Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center

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Panda Faked Pregnancy for Extra Bamboo

Research center calls off birth broadcast

(Newser) - A panda research center in China called off what would have been the first-ever live broadcast of a panda birth after determining that panda Ai Hin wasn't pregnant—just crafty. Pregnant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding get special treatment, and while "phantom pregnancies"...

US-Born Pandas Get Celebrity Welcome in China

After quarantine, Tai Shan and Mei Lan will be split up

(Newser) - China rolled out the red carpet today for pandas Tai Shan and Mei Lan, who arrived in Chengdu after a 15-hour flight from the US. Tai Shan was born at the National Zoo in Washington and Mei Lan at the Atlanta Zoo, but because their parents are Chinese, they had...

Panda Moms Worn Out By Baby Boom

Chinese institute boasts just four births this year

(Newser) - The breeding program at China's Chengdu panda institute has produced just four pandas this year. Researchers say the panda mothers are mostly too exhausted to conceive more babies after last year's record 18 births, the Times of London reports. This year's births included twins Wen Li and Ya L, born...

Pandas Haven't Bounced Back From China Quake

Sichuan disaster presents lasting difficulties for breeders

(Newser) - China’s efforts to save the giant panda from extinction haven’t recovered from last year’s earthquake in Sichuan province, AFP reports. The temblor swallowed up whole groves of bamboo, causing a food shortage just as breeding centers, whose efforts have caused a recent panda “baby boom,”...

It's Raining Baby Pandas in China

Four born in 14 hours in Sichuan province

(Newser) - Four giant pandas were born within 14 hours of each other at a Chinese breeding center over the weekend, giving a much-needed population boost to the endangered species. Nine-year-old Qiyuan gave birth to twins, and two other 8-year-old pandas each gave birth to a cub in Sichuan province, BBC reports....

Quake Carnage Spares Pandas
 Quake Carnage 
 Spares Pandas 

Quake Carnage Spares Pandas

Disaster may threaten animals' food source

(Newser) - The residents of the panda preserves deep in the earthquake-ravaged area of China are OK, state media reported today. Keepers of the 86 bears at the Wolong facility, in Sichuan province, and the 60-plus animals at the nearby Chengdu center now must worry about infrastructure damage interrupting the pandas' food...

6 Stories