Panda cub born in artificial environment doing very well ( 2003-08-21 10:43) (Agencies)
A panda cub born a few weeks ago in an artificial breeding environment
is doing very well in northwestern China's Shaanxi province famous for its
Terracotta Warriors, which is also the home to the largest number of wild
giant pandas in the world.
The cub, born at the beginning of this month, was one of twins, and the other
twin was still-born.
Now the cub, the first born alive in artificial environment in Shaanxi
province, and her mother, Xue Xue, are both in good health, according to the
Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Rescue Center, where the cub was born.
In almost the past four decades after the first artificially bred panda was
born in China in 1963, only 24 percent of female pandas in captivity
became pregnant and gave birth. The center, which now has five pandas, has been
trying hard to artificially breed giant pandas since the early 1980s, but
never succeeded.
This year, the center worked in cooperation with the Chengdu Giant Panda
Breeding and Research Base in southwestern Sichuan province, and worked out
detailed plans for the reproduction.
This March, Xue Xue entered oestrum, staff at the center brought male panda
Ping Ping to her and after the natural copulation, the staff also artificially
inseminated her.
At 3:54 p.m. on August 2, Xue Xue gave birth to the first baby and, at 5"The
second one, weighing only 87 g, was a dead fetus.
There are only approximately 1,000 wild pandas living around the world,
mainly scattering in the outlying mountains in China's western Sichuan,
Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The number of pandas in captivity worldwide stands
at around 100. Panda cub born in artificial environment doing very well.
