Zoo News: It’s a Boy! And a Girl!

Months after twin Andean Bear Cubs were born at the National Zoo (and after several weeks of watching them on the Zoo's webcam), the duo finally ventured outside for the first time on Friday, alongside their mom, Billie Jean.

The cubs, whose gender was also recently revealed by veterinarians, spent an hour and a half playing and climbing walls before following Mom back into the den. Keepers said they were playful and even seemed to show off for the keepers, trying to wrestle each other and their mom, though it will likely be a while before they're large enough to win that challenge.

Aside from their gender, the twins are easy to tell apart because of their distinct facial markings: The male cub has lighter, more defined "eyebrows"—the fur that surrounds his eyes look almost like a pair of glasses, zoo keepers said.

The cubs won't make a public debut until later this spring, so these pictures are holding us over until we can see the little (fur) bundles of joy for ourselves.

Erica R. Hendry | | READ MORE

Erica R. Hendry is the innovations reporter/producer for Smithsonian.com