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China has seen a baby boom of newborn panda cubs in recent days.

 

After four pairs of twin panda cubs were born last week, a 13-year-old mother gave birth to another cub in a southwest China research center Sunday morning. This brings the number of newborn, artificially bred pandas to 11 so far this year.

 

More than 30 female pandas across the country have mated this year and seven of them have given birth to 11 cubs including four sets of twins, said Zhang Zhihe, head of the Chengdu Giant Panda Reproduction and Research Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

 

"Chinese experts are expecting more than 20 panda cubs to be born this year and now it seems it won't be difficult to achieve the goal," said Zhang.

 

Two more pairs of twin panda cubs were born in the center on Thursday and Saturday respectively, bringing to four the number of panda twins born last week.

 

Twin pandas gave birth to twin cubs in the center based in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan, on August 6 and August 7. Five-year-old panda Xi Mei gave birth to twin cubs Saturday at the Wolong center and Qian Qian, aged eight, gave birth to twins Thursday. "The two mothers and their cubs are all well," Li Desheng, the center's deputy director, said yesterday.

 

One of Xi Mei's cubs, a female, weighs 188.9 grams and the other, being held by its mother, is estimated to be about 200 grams. The 100-kilogram Xi Mei had her first cub last year.

 

Qian Qian, weighing 105 kilograms, gave birth to twin female cubs weighing 190.5 grams and nearly 200 grams respectively. Qian Qian also had a cub last year. "All the newborn pandas this year are heavy," Li said.

 

A 218-gram male cub, the heaviest in the history of China's artificial reproduction program, was born at the Wolong center on August 7. This has much to do with the improvement of breeding and reproduction management at the center, Li said.

 

This weekend a panda named Eryatou, meaning "second girl" in Chinese, at the age of 13, gave birth to a 130-gram female cub after 123 days of pregnancy at the center. Both mother and the daughter are doing well, according to center staff. Although this is the fourth birth for Eryatou none of her previous cubs survived.

 

The Chengdu center has assigned a worker to feed Eryatou who has gained 15 kg since last year and now weighs 95 kg. "She's a good mother this time," said Huang Xiangming, an official with the center. After giving birth Eryatou held the cub before it touched the ground and licked it with care.

 

China began artificially inseminating giant pandas in the 1960s but with few successful cases. Most newborn pandas weigh between 83 and 190 grams. However, China made a major breakthrough in artificial breeding in the 1990s with the number of newborn captive cubs rising from nine in 2000 to 25 last year.

 

Giant pandas show little instinctive behavior in captivity, especially sexual desire, according to experts. Artificial insemination is normally used for breeding but the pandas are encouraged to mate naturally.

 

Giant pandas have been around since the age of the dinosaurs. They're one of the world's most endangered species and are found only in China where they're recognized as being national treasures.

 

Studies from the State Forestry Administration confirm there are over 180 giant pandas living in captivity on the Chinese mainland.

 

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2006)