Dec 26, 2006, 18:54 GMT
Tokyo - A zoo in Japan received an early Christmas present from a female panda - the birth of twins, local media reported Tuesday.
Meimei, a giant panda from China, gave birth Saturday at Adventure World zoo in Wakayama, 450 kilometres south-west of Tokyo. It was only the second time that a giant panda in captivity had been known to give birth in the winter, according to the zoo.
The twins raise the number of artificially-bred pandas born this year to a record 30.
The mother and and yet to be named cubs were said to be in good health, despite one weighing only 84 grams - considered to be premature, zoo officials said. The sex of the babies has yet to be determined.
It is the third set of twins born to Meimei and her partner Eimei. The zoo could not confirm if the Christmas cubs were conceived as a result of natural mating or artificial insemination, as both methods were used.
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