A record 16 giant pandas have been born successfully in captivity in China this year, according to Zhang Zhihe, chairman of the China Giant Panda Breeding Technology Committee.

A newborn giant panda cub, weighing 180 grams, leans close to her mother August 26, 2003 in Beijing Zoo. Eight-year-old Niu Niu gave birth to the cub, her first, in Beijing. [newsphoto.com.cn]

A total of 29 pandas were inseminated naturally or artificially in spring this year and they gave births to 19 pandas in autumn, of which two were still born and one failed to survive, Zhang said.

The statistics included the births by Baiyun and Meimei, two pandas lent to the United States and Japan. Meimei gave birth to twins in early September in Japan.

Zhang said the survival rate of 84 percent was good news for the protection of the endangered animal.

Chinese experts had long been devoted to the research of giant panda physiology, pathology and breeding, and they had accumulated enough experience to overcome difficulties in artificial reproduction, Zhang said.

Giant pandas can only become pregnant once a year and give birth to one or two cubs at a time. It is regarded as extremely difficult for giant pandas in captivity to mate. The survival of panda cubs is also an obstacle.

China started its artificial breeding program in the 1960s, but did not see a major breakthrough in birth and survival numbers until the end of the 1990s. Nine giant panda cubs born in captivity survived in 2000, while 12 survived in 2001 and 10 in 2002.

Experts estimate that 1,000 giant pandas live in the wild in high mountains around the Sichuan Basin in southwest China, while about 140 live in captivity around the world.

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