(Reuters) – Hong Kong’s twin giant panda cubs marked their first birthday on Friday with a specially-made iced vegetable juice cake, delighting crowds of panda enthusiasts at the city’s Ocean Park.
The cubs – elder sister Jia Jia and younger brother De De – eagerly licked the frozen treat and played energetically inside their enclosure. They are the first giant panda cubs born in the city.
Their mother, Ying Ying, made history in August 2024 as the world’s oldest first-time panda mother at 19, the equivalent of 57 in human years. Her decade-long journey to parenthood with partner Le Le included multiple phantom pregnancies and miscarriages before the unexpected birth of the twins, which captured hearts across Hong Kong.
According to the park, Jia Jia and De De now each weigh about 30 kg and are gradually being introduced to solid foods such as chopped bamboo shoots and carrots.