The birth of hope

The giant panda is one of the most critically endangered species in the world. this exclusive set of photos shows the cubs' growth during their first 100 days

What could be cuter than a panda cub? A group of panda cubs, all within huggable reach of one another. There has been another bumper crop of artificially bred cubs at Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding this year. Fourteen of the 17 surviving babies from an original group of 20 are on display, (the other three are in the United States and Spain), forming the world's biggest artificially bred panda population. Born over 40 days between July and September, the group includes Meng Meng, the oldest and largest cub at 3.6 kilograms, and Ya Yi, just 600 grams.

Left: Passing the 100-day-old mark, the giant panda cub Meng Meng frolics in the fields of Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province. Above: Newborn pandas have a distinctive coloration. Photos by She Yi / for China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/06/2013 page4)