Germany: Endangered red panda gives birth to 2 cubs at zoo

An endangered red panda has given birth to two cubs in the Karlsruhe Zoo, located in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The zoo announced the birth of the male and female cubs on Friday in a Facebook post. It said the birth was the first for a red panda inside the zoo.

What do we know about the offspring?

The two cubs were taken out of their den on Friday for their first checkup with a veterinarian, a zoo spokesman told the German DPA news agency.

The zoo added in the Facebook statement that they were both microchipped.

"The offspring of the red pandas are developing very well," the zoo said, adding that they were born on June 25. They currently weigh 410 and 500 grams.

"The cubs will spend the next weeks in the den and will be cared for by their mother Akuti," the statement added.

Only thousands of red pandas remain

Red pandas are among the world's endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says fewer than 10,000 of them remain on Earth.

Only a little larger than a domestic cat, the pandas are also characterized by their bear-like physique and thick-russet fur.

Their name is believed to derive from the Nepali word "ponya," which means bamboo/plant-eating animals. Despite the name, they are not closely related to the bigger pandas.

The species mainly lives in the Himalayas, in countries including Nepal, India, Bhutan and Myanmar.

The German DPA news agency contributed to this article 

Edited by: Wesley Dockery