Panda births break record in China (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The birth of twin pandas at a research center brought the number of the endangered species born in captivity this year in China to a record 25, a news report said Tuesday.

The number of births so far this year is up from at least 19 for the research program in 2005, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The twins, both weighing about 5 1/2 ounces, were born Monday at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The as-yet-unnamed cubs were the first for their 8-year-old mother Youyou, the report said.

The bears are the sixth set of twins born to captive pandas this year -- a sign of the growing success of China's extensive breeding program, which relies heavily on artificial insemination, Chinese researchers say.

"We've pretty much resolved the problems of infertility among pandas," the center's director Zhang Zhihe was quoted as telling Chinese media.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/09/12/china.pandas.ap/index.html

[FedUpWithIt All]

1. One of the twins has died....

:cry:

The infant was crushed by the sleep deprived nursing mother. The remaining twin is healthy.

http://www.nbc5.com/family/9810101/detail.html