Panda feeding on bamboo at China's Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in Sichuan province.
Four giant panda cubs were born within 14 hours at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in China’s Sichuan province.
Officials said it was an extremely rare occurrence for the endangered animals. Xinhua reports 9-year-old Qiyuan (“Magic Luck” in Chinese) gave birth to a pair of female cubs within less than an hour late in the afternoon on July 26.
Then, 8-year-old Chenggong (“Success” in Chinese) delivered two cubs early the following morning.
Twelve panda twins were born in captivity in the country last year, the most since an artificial breeding program was established more than 40 years ago.
There are only about 1,590 giant pandas living in the wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.
The Chengdu center currently has 71 in captivity.
Photo: Photo: P. Wei - iStockphoto
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