Qi Zhen gives birth to twins at Chengdu Panda Base
Qi Zhen gave birth to her fourth set of twins on August 4, 2011 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The first born is a female of 152g, the second born is a male of 122g. Qi Zhen, the daughter of Mei Mei, already gave birth to twins in 2006, 2008 and 2010. She has also a twin sister Qi Yuan.
Her mother, Mei Mei, is famous for raising her twins together, without cub swapping. Qi Zhen has done in it the past, we will see if she is doing it again…
Mei Mei, probably (one of) the best panda mothers ever hasn’t always been expierienced with cubs. Qi Zhen was her first born cub and when she saw that red cub, Mei Mei got scare. Mei Mei, panic-stricken, tore a piece of Qi Zhen’s delicate skin. Soon the cub was covered with blood, but thanks to the experienced keepers, they removed the injured Qi Zhen and rushed her into surgery. Since the injury was serious, Qi Zhen got seven stitches to suture the wound. To commemorate the “7-stitches” of the surgery, the cub was given the name of Qi Zhen which is, in Chinese, a homophone of “7-stitches”.
Source: Chengdu Panda Base
