A panda center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday published the world's first video of wild adolescent twin pandas.
The video, shot on an infrared camera, was released by China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve. The 2-year-old pandas are seen in the video playing under a tree in July.
Normally, only one cub born to wild pandas will survive as the mother usually abandons one because she doesn't have energy to take care of twins, said Wang Pengyan, a professor from Wolong National Nature Reserve.
The rare video of surviving twin pandas shows that the reserve has enough resources to allow the mother to raise the pair, said Wang. He noted that pandas in Wolong reserve often take up residence in the hollow of a tree.
The compact space enables a panda mother to hold both her babies close and provides good insulation against the cold, said Wang, suggesting it may have been this environment that allowed the twins to survive.
