Giant panda Ying Ying gifted by Central Government to HKSAR gives birth to pigeon pair of cubs
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     The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced today (August 15) that the giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, gifted by the Central People’s Government to the HKSAR in 2007, succeeded in natural mating at Ocean Park in March this year. After a pregnancy period of nearly five months, Ying Ying gave birth to a pigeon pair of cubs at 2.05am and 3.27am today.
     This is a very critical period for the health of the newborn giant panda cubs. Ocean Park’s animal care and veterinary teams, together with experts from the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), are monitoring Ying Ying and her cubs round the clock until their conditions become fully stable.
     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which makes the birth of the first lovely Hong Kong-born pigeon pair of cubs by Ying Ying and Le Le even more special. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Central Government again for gifting the giant pandas to the HKSAR which fully demonstrates its care and support for our city. We would also like to thank Ocean Park’s team for taking good care of An An, Jia Jia, Ying Ying and Le Le over the years, as well as the experts from the CCRCGP for their continuous support, which enabled Ying Ying and Le Le to give birth to the pigeon pair of cubs.”