Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo announced Monday the birth of twin red panda cubs. It's the first red panda births at the zoo in nearly 30 years.
The mother, 2-year-old Hazel, gave birth to the female cubs on June 19. The father is 13-year-old Yukiko.
The cubs were five ounces at birth. Red pandas born blind and will likely open their eyes two to three weeks after birth.
WATCH: Cub is weighed
“These are appropriate weights at birth and a good indicator they are healthy and nursing," said Dr. Darin Collins in a statement.
Hazel gave birth in an indoor, climate-controlled den where she is nursing and bonding with her cubs, the zoo said. Because red pandas are largely solitary, Yukiko will remain separated from the new family. The zoo says staff members are mostly keeping their distance and letting the cubs and Hazel bond with minimal interference.
Hazel and the cubs could be on public display by the end of the summer.
While they share the name of giant pandas, the zoo says studies suggest red pandas are closely related to skunks, weasels and raccoons.
Fewer than 10,000 red pandas remain in their native habitat of bamboo forests in China, the Himalayas and Myanmar.
