Panda twins born in China's Sichuan province

Giant pandas, an endangered species, have seen their numbers hit by human encroachment in southwestern China

Twin panda cubs, a male and a female, were born at a breeding research base in China's southwest Sichuan province on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Panda twin cubs, a male and a female, were born in SW China’s Chengdu on Qixi, or Chinese lover’s day pic.twitter.com/eII4LmUyHn

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) August 9, 2016

Mother Chenggong gave birth to the cubs early morning at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. CCTV showed footage of the newborns crawling in an incubator. It said they were both in good health.

Love is in the air: Giant panda couples show romance as China celebrates its Valentine's Day – Qixihttps://t.co/5wE64IMOT1

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) August 9, 2016

Giant pandas, an endangered species, have seen their numbers hit by human encroachment in the highlands in southwestern China where they survive almost entirely on a diet of bamboo. However, according to the World Wildlife Fund, a 2014 census found 1,864 giant pandas living in the wild, almost double the number of the late 1970s.

On Monday, Vienna's main zoo announced the birth of a naturally conceived giant panda cub, a rare event that it said was unique in Europe to the Austrian capital.