2014 a year of success for pandas

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda announced yesterday that 32 of its 36 newborn cubs had survived in 2014, bringing the total number of captive pandas in China to 394.

The center has leased 24 of its pandas to nine countries with the latest friendly gesture made in February, when a pair of giant pandas were sent to their new home in the Pairi Daizi Zoo in Belgium.

Among the most memorable events of 2014, Ju Xiao, one of the center’s mothers, gave birth to the world’s only surviving panda triplets in July 2014.

The center also saw a female panda named Xue Xue (snow) released into the wild. It was the fourth captive-bred panda released to the wild, after Xiang Xiang was released in 2006.

The center plans to help more pandas enter the wild this year, as 2014 saw the opening of a new panda training center in Wolong, Sichuan, and work began on another one in Huaying Mountain, Sichuan.

Of the three pandas previously released into the wild, only one died due to fighting with other males. Tao Tao, a male released in 2012, and Zhang Xiang, the elder sister of Xue Xue, who was released in 2013, are both doing well.

Researchers track the animals with the help of GPS collars, radio positioning tools and DNA samples.

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