BEIJING (AFP) — A record number of panda twins have been born in China this year due to the nation's improved artificial breeding programme, state media reported Monday.
Twelve pairs of panda twins have been born in captivity so far this year, a record high since China started artificially breeding the animals in 1963, Zhang Zhihe, head of the China Giant Panda Breeding Technology Commission, told Xinhua news agency.
The twin cubs were among 31 pandas born so far this year, though only 25 of the animals have survived.
The high birth rate of twins was due to the "maturation of artificial breeding techniques," Zhang told a conference, according to Xinhua.
Last year, 33 pandas were born, including 11 pairs of twins.
The giant pandas, known for being sexually inactive, are among the world's most endangered animals.
China has 239 giant pandas in captivity, including 128 in the China Giant Panda Research Center in Wolong, a nature reserve in the southwest province of Sichuan.
Around 1,590 pandas are thought to be living in the wild.
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