Panda in China Sets Fertility Record
Posted on: Wednesday, 10 September 2003, 06:00 CDT
BEIJING (AP) -- A 19-year-old panda has given birth to her 13th cub at a breeding center in China's southwest, setting a new record for fertility among the rare animals, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.
The birth Tuesday was the fourth reported in captivity worldwide in just four days.
The cub born to the panda Qing Qing was the 11th reported this year in China, where only about 1,000 pandas live in the wild. There are 140 in captivity.
Experts believe Qing Qing's cub is the first of a set of twins, and the second should be born soon, Xinhua said, citing Yu Jiangqiu, vice director of the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center.
The center is in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, which is home to most pandas in the wild.
"It is really a great achievement for giant pandas (to) become pregnant while in captivity," Yu was quoted as saying.
A panda named Mei Mei gave birth Monday to twins at the Shirahama Zoo in Wakayama, Japan.
On Saturday, a 13-year-old panda named Ya Ya had a female cub at the Chengdu center, Xinhua said.
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