Seven baby red pandas were welcomed into the world by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.
Five of the pandas were hand-raised by keepers since two of the three panda mothers are unable to raise them.
"Our animal care team is always hopeful that new moms will raise their own cubs, but that's not always possible," the Institute said on their Facebook page.
All of the cubs are doing well and are being fed by hand up to seven times a day, CBS News reported. Animal keeper Jessica Kordell hand feeds the youngest panda six times a day, from 6 a.m. to midnight, while the two smallest cubs needed to be fed seven times a day.
Aside from being fed, the cubs also get antibiotics and sleep in incubators that are set to 88 degrees.
One mother, Regan, had a failed rearing attempt in the past and is a member of the zoo's red panda community that is considered genetically valuable. The zoo has decided to take responsibilities of the pandas even prior to Regan's labor.
The cubs of a panda named Leo Mai are being cared for by zoo personnel, since she was euthanized following the births of her offspring due to an aggressive cancer.
Meanwhile, the third mother, Nutmeg, is caring for her own cubs, and the family is reported to be doing quite well.
The red panda cubs will be sent to other zoos in the U.S. when they turn four months old.
A coordinated effort between zoos and other wildlife institutions are needed in order to save the red pandas, which are considered valuable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
