New Panda Mom Doesn’t Realize She Had Twins

Bella

Bella

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"With only around 2060 pandas living in the wild, the giant panda is considered vulnerable of extinction by the IUCN Red List. Due to the fact that pandas reproduce so infrequently, it is very difficult for their population to recover from such a low point." > https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/giant-panda/

"Crafty zookeepers are keeping a set of newborn panda twins alive by switching them out every day. Although twins aren’t uncommon, when pandas have multiple babies they tend to devote all of their attention to only one of their cubs, leaving the other to starve. But these zookeepers have managed to get new panda moms to care for both babies by rotating them out, tricking the pandas into believing they only have one cub to care for.

At this panda sanctuary in China, pandas get the royal treatment with open spaces, lush vegetation environments and plenty of trees to climb on, except when a panda has just given birth. Because newborn pandas are so fragile and small, new born pandas and their moms are place on a special nursing area where the small baby pandas can be safe from other pandas. Once the baby pandas are much bigger and stronger, mom and the babies can join the rest of the panda family on their beautiful wide-open spaces of their bamboo forest."


Bella ✌️
 

With the way they infrequently reproduce, and live entirely on only bamboo shoots, it seems as if Pandas are determined to go extinct.
 
I wonder how long they will have to do the switching and if at some point the mother will accept having both with her.
 

I don't think mama bear can have both cubs with her at once. Evidently, she's only able to attend one cub. She's not aware that she had twins. If she was, she'd leave one to starve. I think they have to keep switching until the twins no longer need mama's milk and the cubs learn to eat bamboo, which is when the cubs are about eight or nine months old. From the article below, in the wild, the cub leaves its mother at one and a half to two years of age. So maybe the cubs are still switched out until then. 🤔

Growth and Development of Giant Panda Cubs: A Timeline > https://www.pandasinternational.org/growth-and-development-of-giant-panda-cubs-a-timeline/

Bella ✌️
 
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