Fertility patterns have a lot to do with it, but there’s been a rash of panda birthdays at Zoo Atlanta.
The twins, Xi Lun and Ya Lun, celebrated their first birthdays on Sept. 3, with a special ice cake made by King of Pops.
Speaking of Pops, panda patriarch Yang Yang turns 20 on Saturday, Sept. 9.
And his son, Mei Lan, the first giant panda born at Zoo Atlanta, came into the world 11 years ago on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Mei Lan is the father of at least one baby, a male named Meng Lan (born July 4, 2015 in China), giving Yang Yang and Lun Lun their first grandchild. There are plenty of grandparents among the other species at Zoo Atlanta, including western lowland gorilla Ozzie.
Ozzie, 56, has nine children, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren living at Zoo Atlanta and at other zoos around the U.S. Nearly half of the members of Zoo Atlanta’s gorilla population are his descendants.
(P.S. grandparents of the human variety can get into the zoo for free on Sunday, Sept. 10.)
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