Vienna’s twin panda cubs are now 100 days old, and have been given names: Fu Feng and Fu Ban, meaning Happy Phoenix and Happy Companion). They’ve been kept in seclusion so far, but will go on public view at the end of the year.
Zoo officials had waited to name them because so many young pandas don’t make it through their first months. The cubs didn’t attend the ceremony, but the Chinese Ambassador to Austria did.
Fu Feng was chosen by zoo officials; Fu Ban was named in an online ballot with 12,000 votes. The babies are now over 5 kilos, but weighed only 100 grams at birth. Unusual for pandas in captivity, they were conceived through mating, not artificial insemination.
Zoo officials expect them to be among the zoo’s and the city’s biggest attractions, especially to Chinese visitors. This year, more than 800,000 Chinese visitors came to Vienna, and more are expected next year.
They’re just toooooo cute!