China keeps pandas from dying out

The giant panda is considered a national treasure in China. The iconic animal is also an endangered species. The China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong, in Sichuan, is doing its best to build panda numbers and ensure the living fossil lives on.

Qingqing is a six-year-old female panda. At the beginning of the year, experts started the search for a suitable mate.

Tang Chunxiang, Director Assistant, China Giant Panda Protection & Research Ctr, said, "We want to choose a male panda who is distantly related to or unrelated to the female. He needs to be healthy in every aspect, including weight, behavior, physiology and psychology."

To ensure healthy pregnancies, experts from overseas are routinely consulted on the breeding plan. This is Wugang, who was rescued from the wild as a cub. Keepers put the pair together after they became used to each other. But so far, there haven't been any sparks.

Tang Chunxiang, Director Assistant, China Giant Panda Protection & Research Ctr, said, "The female's estrus cycle is in spring. Time for conception is only a day and a half, or 36 hours. If we miss it, we have to wait for another year."

In the end, they used artificial insemination on Qingqing. After 60 years of efforts, the number of pandas in captivity in China has reached 340. But the limited gene pool presents a problem.

Zhang Guiquan, Vice Director, China Giant Panda Protection & Research Ctr, said, "Our aim is to breed 400 to 600 pandas, maintaining 90 percent of their genetic diversity. We might achieve the goal within the next 10 years."

The center in Sichuan cooperates with some 30 organizations around the world in its breeding program. Pandas are favorites at home and abroad, and make some of China's best goodwill ambassadors.