Two female pandas in a southwest China giant panda research center gave birth to three cubs on Monday, a rarity for the animals that have born a record 34 cubs last year.

Fourteen-year-old Eryatou delivered a male weighing 218.5 grams at 7:02 PM at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center, Sichuan Province.

In the morning, 12-year-old Jiaozi gave birth to a male and a female at the same breeding center. It was the fifth delivery for Jiaozi since 2001, Wang Chengdong, an official with the center said.

Chinese panda breeding centers have reported 13 cubs born so far this year, with eight in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center and the other five in Wolong Giant Pandas Nature Reserve.

According to estimates by experts, there are only about 1,590 giant pandas in the wild. The number of giant pandas in captivity stood at about 210 in China.

The mating season of giant panda is mainly from March to May and giant pandas only give birth once a year, usually to one or two cubs.

China has been raising pandas through artificial insemination and breeding for nearly 50 years. However, it began to have more than 10 cubs every year until the 1990s.

Thirty-four panda cubs were born by artificial insemination in 2006 and 30 of them have survived. Both figures hit records.

(China Daily August 14, 2007)