panda

A giant panda from China has given birth to twins at a zoo in Japan, raising the number of artificially-bred pandas born this year to a record 30.

The pandas were born on Saturday at Adventure World in Wakayama, 453km (283 miles) south-west of Tokyo.

The mother and the babies were said to be in good health, despite one weighing only 84 grams - considered to be premature, zoo officials said.

Mei Mei, 12, and her breeding partner Eimei, 14, are both on loan from China.

Births during the winter months are extremely rare for pandas in captive breeding programmes, officials said. The sex of the cubs is yet to be confirmed.

The giant panda is one of the world's rarest animals with an estimated 1,590 living in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan and the western province of Shaanxi.

Another 180 animals have been bred in captivity.