Twin joy as Tokyo panda gives birth to two cubs

TOKYO: A panda at Tokyo's Ueno zoo gave birth to twins on Wednesday, weeks after news of Shin Shin's pregnancy sent stocks in nearby restaurants soaring.

The two bundles of joy were born in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the zoo said in a statement, adding that it had not yet confirmed the sex of the pair.

"Officials are currently doing their best to protect and observe the mother and babies," the statement added.

The zoo is set to give a press conference later Wednesday morning and release images of the tiny additions.

Mother Shin Shin sparked a rally in stocks of eateries near the zoo earlier this month when her suspected pregnancy was announced, with investors anticipating a visitor boom to the area after the delivery.

Shares in one Chinese restaurant nearby spiked nearly 30 percent on the pregnancy and was up around 6.4 percent in early trade Wednesday.

Zookeepers had been on alert for a possible pregnancy after Shin Shin and partner Ri Ri mated in early March.

The pair are also parents of a female panda, Xiang Xiang, that was born in June 2017 and became a massive draw for the zoo.

She was scheduled to be repatriated to China two years after her birth, but Japanese officials successfully negotiated to extend her stay.

She is now set to return to China at the end of the year.

Japanese media have been offering regular updates on the pandas at Ueno, which in non-pandemic times draw huge crowds of domestic and foreign tourists.

It is estimated that there are around 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild, living mainly in bamboo forests in the mountains of China, according to environmental group WWF.

Around 600 more live in zoos and breeding centres around the world.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies giant pandas as "vulnerable".

The black and white mammals are immensely popular around the world and China loans them out as part of a "panda diplomacy" programme to foster foreign ties.

The bears are notoriously bad at reproducing, but the last year has seen several born at facilities around the world.

In early June, a panda in Malaysia gave birth to its third cub during its stay there.

And a newborn in Washington DC has enthralled Americans since its birth in August 2020, with over a million people tuning in within just months to watch Xiao Qi Ji -- Little Miracle -- on a "Panda Cam".