Vienna zoo's twin panda cubs make public debut

VIENNA - Twin panda cubs born last summer at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo have ventured out of their cave to make their public debut, keepers said on Friday (Dec 30).

Giant panda Yang Yang, who gave birth to female Fu Feng and male Fu Ban in August, has been raising the two in a cave hidden from the public eye.

They first stepped out of the cave into their wider enclosure on Thursday evening (Dec 29) to explore their surroundings, with zoo visitors first seeing them out and about on Friday morning, according to the zoo.

"For days, the little ones have looked out curiously from the cave. Yesterday evening the female Fu Feng first climbed out of the cave," zoo director Dagmar Schratter said in a statement on Friday. Fu Feng's brother soon followed.

The cubs, who still require a lot of sleep, are growing up well, the zoo said, with Fu Feng already weighing 8.8 kg and Fu Ban 6.55 kg.

"Their only use of their teeth so far is when they bite playfully," Ms Schratter said. "Bamboo is not yet on their menu, but only their mother's milk."

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