Watch giant panda triplets meet their mother for the first time
A zoo in China decided the triplets were strong enough to meet their mother after their birth back in July
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The world's only known surviving giant panda triplets met their mother for the first time on Tuesday at China's Chimelong Safari Park.
Pandas are notorious for their low reproductive rates so when the triplets were born on 29 July many thought it was both a miracle and near impossible that they would survive.
The cubs were separated from their mother because in previous cases of panda triplets, at least one of the babies died due to their mother's carelessness or malnutrition.
Not that such bad parenting was on display in the video released by the park in Guangzhou, where the mother, Juxiao, can be seen cradling two of her cubs affectionately. She left the third baby alone as it was sleeping.
Keepers said the baby pandas each weigh around eight kilograms and are now strong enough to be in an enclosure with their mother.
"We bring the cubs closer to their mother with the main purpose of training the panda mother to bond with its babies," said Dong Guixin, General Manager of Chimelong Safari Park.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments