Two female pandas in a southwest China giant panda
research center gave birth to three cubs on Monday, a rarity for
the animals that have born a record 34 cubs last year.
Fourteen-year-old Eryatou delivered a male weighing 218.5 grams
at 7:02 PM at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center, Sichuan Province.
In the morning, 12-year-old Jiaozi gave birth to a male and a
female at the same breeding center. It was the fifth delivery for
Jiaozi since 2001, Wang Chengdong, an official with the center
said.
Chinese panda breeding centers have reported 13 cubs born so far
this year, with eight in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center
and the other five in Wolong Giant Pandas Nature Reserve.
According to estimates by experts, there are only about 1,590
giant pandas in the wild. The number of giant pandas in captivity
stood at about 210 in China.
The mating season of giant panda is mainly from March to May and
giant pandas only give birth once a year, usually to one or two
cubs.
China has been raising pandas through artificial insemination
and breeding for nearly 50 years. However, it began to have more
than 10 cubs every year until the 1990s.
Thirty-four panda cubs were born by artificial insemination in
2006 and 30 of them have survived. Both figures hit records.
(China Daily August 14, 2007)
