The twin giant panda cubs at Zoo Atlanta are well on their way to giant-size, which is pretty impressive, considering they’ve gained 60 pounds apiece by drinking milk.

As the black-and-white bears approach their first birthday, Tuesday, July 15, Mei Lun and Mei Huan also have a giant-size fan club, which exceeds the physical bounds of the zoo.

The Panda Cam broadcasts their high jinks globally, and the bumptious young performers have not disappointed on screen.

Their wrestling, ear-biting and roughhousing make them an irresistible attraction. The hot weather kept them quieter on a recent morning, reducing their acrobatics to gentle snores, but their admirers online and on-site are many.

A “proud Pandaholic” Sheryl Weinbaum, of Farmington, Mich., will watch the twins online and chat with other fans through a Google Hangout being arranged on their birthday as a special treat. “Too bad I can’t be there in person, but I will enjoy it just the same!” she wrote recently on their Google Plus page.

While the twins’ birthday party will prompt chuckles, it also will bring sighs of relief. Each major milestone marked by the cubs brings greater security, and healthier prospects for adulthood.

Read more at http://on-myajc.com/1jjZFF5

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff