This year's first set of giant panda twins was born early Monday in a conservation facility in Chengdu, China, ECNS reported. 

Ke Lin, a female giant panda, gave birth to two female twins in the wee hours of Monday morning at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The wildlife organization has the most number of giant pandas that are bred in captivity. 

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The cubs are reportedly healthy, with one weighing 118 grams and the other weighing 70 grams. They are both kept in an incubator and reportedly drink only one milliliter of milk each during feeding, according to Daily Mail.

The twins were born through artificial insemination as their 7-year-old mother has no interest in mating with male giant pandas. The staff tried to get Ke Lin to mate with Yongyong, a male giant panda, in 2013, but she was not impregnated. The two following attempts also failed, leading to the decision to inseminate Ke Lin. 

"Ke Lin's pregnancy is her first and the process of pregnancy through to delivery has many difficult-to-predict factors," DM quoted Huang Xiangming, a breeding expert. 

The newly-born cubs have not been named yet. 

The research base is home to more than 80 giant pandas. The cuddly giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world, with only 1,864 surviving. It is the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature. 

Apart from those bred in captivity, most giant pandas reside in mountains in the western provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. Because these animals are mainly found in China, they are usually sent as envoys of friendship from China to the world, according to the Chengdu Research Base. 

Chengdu prides itself as the "Home of the Giant Panda," and fossil records showed that giant pandas lived there at least 4000 years ago. Sichuan province's capital city also houses a giant panda country. 

"Just 70 kilometers away from downtown Chengdu sits the heart of giant panda country. At elevations from 350m to 5600m above sea level, it is the only place with both wild and captive giant pandas in the world."

Tagsgiant pandas, giant panda cubs, giant panda cubs in china, twin giant pandas, Chengdu, Sichuan Province