Toronto panda cubs hit another adorable milestone — they're 3 months old
CBC News | Posted: January 13, 2016 11:30 PM | Last Updated: January 13, 2016
You're still not allowed to visit the cubs in person so take a second to watch them grow up here
The giant panda cubs turned three months old Wednesday — and a photo from the Toronto Zoo shows they're adorably chubby, healthy and they look as though they're still gaining control over their little limbs.
To celebrate the twins' birthday we thought we'd take you back to Oct. 13, when the pair came into the world in the wee hours of the morning.
Er Shun and her cubs stayed under the constant observation of experts from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China during the babies' first days of life. Giant pandas are an endangered species and the zoo celebrated their birth as part of the global conservation effort.
One baby was 187 grams when born, while the other was a bit smaller at 115 grams. When they were born the pink cubs constantly stayed huddled together.
At 10 days old, the two wee cubs had grown more hair and "continued to do well," according to the zoo but were still under close observation by the staff. The twins are the first-ever giant pandas born in Canada and will stay at the Toronto Zoo until 2018.
The cubs' mother had been artificially inseminated using two donors in May and zoo staff said she had a healthy pregnancy.
Er Shun bounced back quickly after giving birth, zoo staff said — and began to bond with her babies.
Because of their fragility, the cubs are still in the maternity area of the giant panda house, which is closed to the public.
It's unclear exactly when they'll be allowed visitors. (Sigh.)
But, for now, a stream of adorable photos and videos of the wee pandas is being shared by the zoo — including photos to mark each of their monthly birthdays.