Female pandas Zhen Zhen and Su Shan gave birth to four panda cubs on July 17 at Shenshuping base in Wolong National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

At 6:44 p.m., Zhen Zhen gave birth to her first cub, who appeared healthy. 

About 30 minutes later, a second cub, a male, was born. 14-year-old Zhen Zhen was born in San Diego Zoo in the U.S. and returned to China in 2010 when she was three years old. She gave birth to twin cubs in 2015. 

Su Shan also gave birth to two healthy cubs around the same time as Zhen Zhen, the second of which was female. Su Shan was born in 2011 to wild panda parents. She gave birth to a cub in 2016.

Both elder cubs stayed with their mothers, and therefore their gender has yet to be identified. The younger cubs were taken into incubators and received assisted care from panda breeders. 

These were the first births this year at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda.

(Photos courtesy of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda)

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