Adorable twin red pandas born in New Zealand

On January 3, Auckland Zoo welcomed two very cute arrivals: baby twin Nepalese red pandas.

The "two very valuable additions to the international breeding programme" are the second and third offspring born to 4-year-old mom Bo and 13-year-old dad Sagar.

Bo and Sagar produced their firstborn, a male named Pabu, just over a year ago.

The cubs each weighed around 100 grams at birth. They now weigh over 400 grams.

Their sex will be confirmed in early March when they have their first vet check, the zoo reported.

"These births are fantastic news, both for Australasia and for the wider Global Species Management Plan through which red panda are managed. We're absolutely delighted Bo has had two healthy cubs and that she's proving once again, to be such a confident and attentive mother," said the zoo's acting Carnivore team leader, Lauren Booth.

The yet-to-be-named cubs will eventually leave Auckland to contribute to the international breeding programme for the species classified as "vulnerable."

"As zoos we work together to ensure genetic diversity is achieved for insurance populations like the red panda — which is vital, but it is an insurance policy, not a solution," said Booth. "Increasingly, we're part of conservation efforts in the wild. Auckland Zoo continues to grow its support of Red Panda Network, whose outstanding community education and forest guardianship programmes in eastern Nepal (key red panda territory) are playing a vital role in helping protect this species that's threatened by habitat loss and poaching."

Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the cute newcomers will have to wait until the cubs are about 12 weeks old — sometime in March — and start venturing outside of their nest box.

In the meantime, we'll have to settle for adorable videos.