A 19-year-old giant panda in Hong Kong has given birth to twins, making her the world's oldest first-time panda mother.

Hong Kong, August 17 : After nearly a decade of unsuccessful mating attempts, a giant panda has set a record by becoming the oldest known panda to give birth to twins, as reported by CNN.

The cubs were born just before Ying Ying's 19th birthday on Thursday this week, which is comparable to age 57 in human years, according to a spokesperson for Hong Kong's Ocean Park.

Photos from the theme park show Ying Ying shortly before giving birth to the twins, who are the first giant pandas to be born in Hong Kong.

The newborns were palm-sized and pink at birth.

The female cub weighed 122 grams (4.2 ounces) and the male 112 grams (almost 4 ounces). The twins were born after years of Ying Ying's unsuccessful mating attempts with her companion Le Le, who, like Ying Ying, was given to Hong Kong by the Chinese government in 2007, CNN reported.

"This birth is a rare and remarkable event, particularly since Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to successfully give birth for the first time," said Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park, in a statement.

"Both cubs are currently very fragile and need time to stabilize, especially the female, who has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake after birth," the park added, according to CNN.

The park also mentioned that Ying Ying had experienced a series of miscarriages before successfully giving birth to these cubs.

"Giant pandas have a notoriously difficult time reproducing, particularly as they age," the park stated.

Giant pandas are known to prefer solitary living in their natural habitats and have only one reproductive phase per year, which lasts for just one to three days, making successful mating rare.

Native to southwest China, Beijing has invested decades in efforts to boost the population of these iconic bears, creating large reserves across mountain ranges to help prevent their extinction.

While breeding giant pandas in captivity has proven challenging, the population in the wild has recently seen a resurgence after years of decline.

It is estimated that approximately 1,800 pandas remain in the wild, mostly in the Sichuan Mountains of western China, according to CNN.

Beijing also lends some of the 600 pandas held in captivity to around 20 different countries.