Guest guest Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/nation/userobject1ai1342379.ht\ ml Panda begets twins -- 13/8/2005 10:15 Giant panda Xi Mei (or Happy Girl) gave birth to twins on Thursday afternoon at the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, sources said yesterday. The twins bring the total number of newborn panda cubs to nine this year. " It's the first time for 5-year-old Xi Mei to be a mother and it's unusual for a first-time mother to give birth to twins, " said Zhang Hemin, director of the center. Both the mother and the twins were in good health. One of the two cubs, a male, weighing 140 grams, was taken away from the mother, as pandas usually only nurture one of their two cubs. Experts will take care of the cub for a period of time before returning it to Xi Mei's care. This way, both of the cubs can be well nursed by their mother, experts said. Xi Mei embraced her babies closely with her arms immediately after the twins were born separately at 1:39pm and 1:50pm on Thursday. After about 20 minutes, the keepers intervened and put the second baby into the nursery, said Zhang. " Thursday is a wonderful day for our center since another giant panda - Long Xin - gave birth to a cub on Thursday morning, " he added. A female panda normally becomes sexually mature at 4-5 years old. They only get pregnant once a year, giving birth to one or two cubs at a time. Panda gestation lasts 83 to 181 days. As pandas mate only in three or four days between March and May each year, they have a relatively low fertility rate. At the end of last year, 163 giant pandas were raised in captivity throughout China. (Xinhua) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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