Panda twins born at Japan zoo

TOKYO - Japan's panda population grew by two, a zoo announced Wednesday, with the birth of twin cubs Tuesday night.

The pair came into the world weighing less than 200 grammes (7 ounces) each, a spokesman for Wakayama Adventure World in western Japan said.

The birth of the two cubs takes to seven the number of pandas at the zoo, which has an active breeding programme for the creatures that have a notoriously low reproductive rate.

At just 21 and 22 centimetres (around 8 inches) the tiny youngsters have a long way to go before they are the size of their mother, 14-year-old Rauhin.

Kyodo News reported that the twins have made a good start, with the first-born beginning to breast feed soon after its birth.

The zoo is yet to name the cubs and has not decided when to place them on public display.