Pandas are notoriously reluctant breeders so the birth of new babies is always great news, but here in the craziness of early 2020, the birth of twins is particularly exciting.
It's especially heartwarming to learn that they have been named "Ping Ping" and "An An", which translates from Chinese as "Safe" and "Sound."
D'aww!
Their mom is Fuwa, a 16 year-old giant panda who has given birth five times, with eight babies total.
Both babies are male, and weighed 159.8g (0.35lb) and 119.5g (0.26lb) at birth.
A month later, they now weigh just over 1kg (2.2lb) and 800g (1.76lb).
Their eyes are still closed, which is normal for pandas. They should start opening them up in a couple of weeks.
The Base says that they planned ahead as the worldwide health crisis began to escalate in China. Plenty of bamboo and other supplies were stocked up.
After two months of total closure, the Base has begun to reopen to tourists, though with continued restrictions to the number of visitors allowed in at a time.
