Born in 2013, Mei Lun and Mei Huan were the first surviving twin panda cubs to be born in the United States and quickly became inseparable. We have been following these sisters since before they even had names.

CGTN’s Nathan King reports.

Their special bond and their antics made them panda superstars at their home zoo in Atlanta, Georgia. But as they grew, their keepers knew the day would come when they would leave for their ancestral home in China to fulfill a special mission — “They are going to add to the genetic diversity of the population and potentially their offspring or their offspring’s offspring could be re-released into the wild,” said Stephanie Braccinim from Zoo Atlanta.

Now they are in their new home in China at the Chengdu Research base of Panda Breeding in Sichuan. They arrived back in November, but are still adjusting to their surroundings — they only really understand English so their keepers have to teach them Mandarin. Also they picked up a bad habit — snack food in America. They are addicted to American crackers. But the diet in Chengdu is only bamboo, apples and Chinese bread.

The next step for these twins is finding mates so they can breed. Now that pandas are off the endangered species list, there can be more focus on trying to re-introduce panda cubs born in China into the wild.