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The only giant panda twins in the nation just turned 4 years old

Happy Birthday! Their birthday celebration had to be aired virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATLANTA — Zoo Atlanta is celebrating the birthday of giant panda twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun! The pair turned 4 years old on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The zoo said Ya Lun and Xi Lun are the only giant panda twins in the U.S.

Their birthday celebration had to be aired virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Panda Care Team packed their dayroom habitat in with birthday surprises. The siblings received ice “cakes” shaped as the No. 4, sugarcane “candles” with sweet potato “flames,” and birthday boxes filled with treats, such as leafeater biscuits, apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes. 

Credit: Zoo Atlanta

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Zoo Atlanta said fewer than 1,900 giant pandas are estimated to remain in the wild in China’s Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Of these, more than 1,200 live inside nature reserves; eight of them have been supported by Zoo Atlanta.

Giant pandas are vulnerable and remain heavily reliant on conservation programs. Their threats include habitat fragmentation and habitat loss from deforestation and other human activities.

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