CHENGDU -- Qi Zhen and Qi Yuan, twin giant pandas at a
giant panda research center in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan
Province, each gave birth to twin cubs on Sunday and Monday, sources with the
center announced on Tuesday.
A newly-born
panda cub is seen at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection Center in Wolong,
southwest China's Sichuan province August 7, 2006. [AP]
With the birth of the four panda cubs, the number of panda cubs born in
captivity this year on the Chinese mainland rose to six, said Zhang Zhihe,
director of the Chengdu Giant Panda Reproduction and Research Center.
The other two panda cubs were born on June 22 and August 7 at the China
Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, also in Sichuan.
Both pandas gave birth to their twin cubs smoothly, said Zhang, and the two
mothers and the newborn twins are all in good health. Zhang said that they had
delayed announcing the births for the sake of the health of the newborn cubs.
Qi Yuan, the younger of the two mother pandas, gave birth to twin cubs on
Sunday. The twin cubs, both males, weighed 169 grams and 119 grams.
Qi Yuan gave birth to her first cub at 5:40 p.m. Sunday and her second baby
was born 17 minutes later.
Her elder sister Qi Zhen also gave birth to twin male cubs on Monday
afternoon. The delivery lasted from 5:03 p.m. to 5:58 p.m.. The newborn twins
weigh 145 grams and 51 grams.
It is the second time that Qi Yuan has given birth to cubs. Last year, she
gave birth to a male cub. By contrast, her older sister Qi Zhen is a first-time
mother.
Qi Zhen and Qi Yuan were born in the Chengdu center on September 4, 1999.
As giant pandas are used to nursing just one cub,
scientists at the Chengdu center remove the cubs for their own safety and nurse
them in special boxes, Zhang said, adding the cubs are taken to their mothers
every four hours on a rotation basis.
