Berlin Zoo’s Panda Twins Get Their Names! 🐼🎉
Exciting news from Zoo Berlin! The adorable baby panda twins have been given their names: Meng Hao and Meng Tian. In Chinese, these names mean “beautiful dreams” and “sweet dreams”—how cute is that?
The twin sisters were born on August 22 to their mom, Meng Meng. Following Chinese tradition, their names include a part of their mom’s name. But that’s not all! They also have German nicknames: Leni and Lotti.
Leni is a nod to Marlene Dietrich, a famous actress born in Berlin’s Schöneberg district. Lotti playfully references Charlottenburg, another part of Berlin. Pretty cool, right?
Zoo director Andreas Knieriem explained that they chose the names together as a team. “We realized that the names Leni and Lotti have a special connection with Berliners,” he said.
The panda twins symbolize a special friendship between China and Germany. “Our panda twins have roots in both Chengdu and Berlin,” Knieriem added. Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner also said that pandas are a symbol of the close relationship between the two countries.
Did you know that Zoo Berlin is the only zoo in Germany with giant pandas? Meng Meng, the mother panda, came from China in 2017. In 2019, she gave birth to Germany’s first-ever twin panda cubs, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan.
The twin cubs were born after an artificial insemination procedure—a special method to help pandas have babies. Now, the zoo family is growing, and everyone is thrilled!
We can’t wait to watch Meng Hao and Meng Tian grow up! Next time you visit Zoo Berlin, make sure to say hi to Leni and Lotti! 🐾💕
Reference(s):
Meng Hao, Meng Tian: Names of baby panda twins at Zoo Berlin revealed
cgtn.com
