Rare Giant Twin Pandas Born at Wolong Nature Reserve in China [VIDEO]

A rare giant panda held in captivity in the Sichuan Province of Southwest China has given birth to twins on June 22. This is the first pair of panda twins born this year, according to local observers.

Born to mother Haizi, the twins came into this world  10 minutes apart. She gave birth to her first cub at .54 p.m. local time. The pandas were born at Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province.

The officials at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda have confirmed that the newly born pandas are healthy. The first cub is a male according to the official although the mother is yet to release it from its embrace. The second cub is a female weighing 79.2 grams. Due to their small size the pandas are extremely fragile and delicate.

In the month of March, Haizi was sent to mate with Bai Yang and Yi Bao and by end of May it was confirmed that she was pregnant.

Giant pandas are known to reside in remote mountainous ranges of central China especially in the Sichuan province. They have been listed as endangered species. Giant pandas live for 20 years in the wild and around 30 years in the captivity.

Their population faces threat due to poaching, urban development, climate change and destruction of habitat. It is very difficult for the pandas to reproduce as the female is in estrus for just 15 to 25 days in the Spring and they can mate during a narrow window of 2-3 days within this period.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the population of giant pandas in the wild is increasing due to conservation efforts and constant support offered by the Chinese government. A survey conducted in 2004 on giant pandas revealed that there are nearly 1,600 pandas in the wild while in captivity there are just 300 pandas.