ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The giant panda Ying Ying is now the mother of twins. Ying Ying lives in Ocean Park, a theme park in Hong Kong. After a five-hour labor, her cubs greeted her Thursday morning with these screechy cries.

(SOUNDBITE OF PANDA CUBS CRYING)

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Aww (ph). The theme park said in a statement that the birth is a true rarity because Ying Ying is the world's oldest first-time panda mom. She delivered the newborns the day before her 19th birthday.

SHAPIRO: And unlike a human birth, where you have many months of signs that a baby is on the way, the park says panda pregnancies can be hard to detect. Ying Ying started showing signs she might be pregnant in late July, and veterinarians confirmed that just four days before she gave birth, using an ultrasound.

CHANG: The cubs themselves are adorable, but they don't look much like giant pandas yet. For one, they are not giant. The male and female cubs are just about 4 ounces each and fit in the palm of your hand.

SHAPIRO: They're not black and white, either. They are small and pink with white hairs all over their bodies, tiny little nubbins for ears and bald stubby tails.

CHANG: The park says, it'll be a few months before the fragile cubs are ready for their public debut. Until then, we wish them and their mom a speedy recovery. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.