Alberta: Big Hopes for Teensy Pandas

EDMONTON -- Two tiny red pandas at Edmonton's Valley Zoo are carrying the survival of their species on their furry shoulders.

Tai the male and Pip the female were born May 26 and have already almost tripled their birth weights of 112 and 147 grams.

They're the second set of twins born to the zoo's pair of adult red pandas and are part of a breeding program aimed at ensuring the species survives.

The two were taken from their mother shortly after birth when she began grooming one aggressively, and have been cared for around the clock by zoo animal health technologist Sandy Helliker.

The red pandas are still so young they are mostly immobile, their eyes sealed shut, their fluffy bodies more often than not curled up together fast asleep.