Four giant panda cubs were born within 14 hours in separate
births at a panda breeding base in southwest China's Sichuan
Province from Saturday evening to Sunday morning. The event was
considered a rarity in panda breeding history. Nine-year-old
Qiyuan ("Magic Luck" in Chinese) gave birth to a pair of twin
female cubs weighing 135 grams and 132 grams, respectively, at
5:24 p.m. and 6:16 p.m. on Saturday at the Chengdu Panda
Breeding Research Center, said Yang Feifei, a center expert.
Eight-year-old Chenggong ("success" in Chinese) gave birth to a
117-gram cub at 7:51 p.m. on Saturday. Zhuzhu ("Pearl in
Chinese"), also eight-year-old, gave birth to a 186-gram cub at
6:55 a.m. on Sunday, Yang said. Currently, the center has 71
pandas in captivity, the largest of its kind in the world.
Twelve panda twins were born in captivity in the country last
year, the most since an artificial breeding program started more
than 40 years ago. The giant panda, known for being sexually
inactive, is among the world's most endang