A pair of red panda cubs has been born at Planckendael Zoo in Muizen, near Mechelen.
The twins are believed to have been born in late July and are still being largely kept out of sight by their mother, Amber. Visitors may catch a brief glimpse of them when she moves them from one nest chamber to another.
Keepers said they knew Amber was pregnant, partly because of her weight gain, but the birth came later than expected.
They eventually saw on camera footage that she was carrying her two cubs one by one by the scruff of the neck to a different nest chamber.
According to the zoo, this is natural behaviour for red pandas, helping the mother spread scent trails and, in the wild, reducing the risk of predators finding her young.
The cubs were born blind and deaf and are completely dependent on their mother during their first weeks of life. They will undergo their first medical check-up and be microchipped at around nine weeks old.
Red pandas live in the bamboo forests of the Himalayas and are an endangered species. Planckendael Zoo takes part in the European conservation breeding programme, which coordinates breeding internationally to preserve as much genetic diversity as possible in the zoo population.
The zoo also supports the Red Panda Forest Guardians Project, which trains local forest rangers to protect red pandas and their habitat, monitor populations and combat poaching.
