The pigeon pair panda.[Photo/chinanews.com]

CHENGDU - A female panda called Chengda gave birth to the first pigeon pair this year on Tuesday in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding said.

The female cub weighed 128.2 grams and was born at 10:57 p.m. and the male cub followed at 11:35 p.m. weighing 160.2 grams.

According to base staff, Chengda had been showing signs of pregnancy since June 5, such as a loss of appetite. On Tuesday, she was restless and her waters broke in the afternoon.

The cubs are in good health. Chengda could feed them.

Pandas are an endangered species due to extremely low reproductive rates in the wild. In captivity, they often give birth to twins and sometimes even triplets.

On April 24, a female panda in Sichuan gave birth to the first set of twins in captivity this year.