First panda twins born in Germany make public debut at Berlin zoo

BERLIN, Germany (WTVD) -- Twin pandas made their debut at Zoo Berlin, taking their first steps outside.

According to German news outlet RTL, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, nicknamed Pit and Paule by their caretakers, were born on August 31, 2019. They are the first pandas ever born in Germany.

Pit is older by 48 minutes and, according to zookeepers, is more laid back than his mischievous brother Paule.

The brothers born in Germany weighed about 6.5 ounces and 4.8 ounces respectively.

According to the San Diego Zoo, pandas are generally solitary animals and females can only mate for two to three days at a time. Pandas have a slow reproductive rate and can only breed once every two or three years--a typical female in the wild may bear five litters of one or two cubs in her lifetime.

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The San Diego Zoo says panda cubs are typically about the size of a stick of butter at birth.

The brother's mom, 6-year-old Meng Meng, has stayed with the boys since they were born and watched them closely as they took their first steps outside.

RTL said the public can see the twin boys for the first time on Thursday.

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