Giant Panda Gives Birth to a Set of Twins in Southwest China [Video]

In a rare move for a rare animal, a giant panda in southwest China has given birth to the first set of panda twins this year.

Giant panda Haizi gave birth to the first twin at 4:54 p.m. local time at the Wolong Nature Reserve in the Sichuan province, with the second panda popping out 10 minutes later.

"This is the first time a giant panda has given birth to twins, anywhere in the world, this year," said conservation expert Liu Chunhua in a Telegraph report.

Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, with female pandas being fertile for only a couple days out of the year. According to the Xinhua News Agency, Haizi became pregnant after mating with Bai Yang and Yi Bao in March.

The mother, showing overt signs of affection towards the first-born panda, would not give up the cub for weighing. The second cub, a female, weighed in at 79.2 grams. It is not uncommon for a giant panda mother to abandon one of the cubs after giving birth to twins.

Giant pandas are usually known for their solitary lifestyles in the wild, where they often times seek out the company of themselves rather than fellow pandas. Around 300 pandas can be found in captivity, mostly in China, and their births often make the evening news.

The last survey of the wild giant panda population put their numbers at around 1,600. The animal, once endangered, is now slowly recovering thanks to aggressive conservation efforts.