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The giant panda has roamed the mountains of China for thousands of years. But recently it is teetered on the brink of enstinc, extinction. Now thanks to old-fashioned care and modern medicine in China, the world's most beloved bear may be saved. NBC's Mark Mullen is in China with more.
In Wolong Sichuan Province, China, panda nurses are caring for two sets of twins born two days apart. The Wolong Panda Protection and Research Center could break the old record of 16 births set last year, a panda mini baby boom.
It's amazingly gratifying and rewarding considering it wasn't that long ago that these guys are almost gonna make extinct.
The numbers dropped to less than 1,500 giant pandas in the wild just five years ago. Men helped shrink their natural habitat of bamboo-rich mountains in China. And what also didn't help, the panda's already low libido, especially when in captivity.
The pandas, researchers found out, were a lot more interested in playing, eating and sleeping rather than mating. Something researchers knew was an obstacle. (Wait a minute) Something our television crew experienced firsthand. At first, the center tried everything to inspire panda romance.
We feed some Chinese medicine and for the, for the male pandas to help the, the breeding.
That had limited results. And so did the videos of other pandas mating that the staff showed the bears and which we won't show you.
What eventually worked the best was science and determination. By trial and error, the Wolong center staff perfected the use of genetically diverse artificial insemination. Along with successful pre and postnatal bear care so well, more giant pandas are born and survive here than anywhere else in the world.
Good, good news, (um hmm) very good.
With 180 pandas now in captivity and perhaps 3,000 in the wild. Not to mention more baby bears on the way, researchers are moving closer to their ultimate goal. Growing enough pandas and habitat to send them home into the wild. One was released this summer. The staff eagerly hopes to release many more in the years to come. For now, it's rewarded enough for these bear-lovers to know their care and efforts are helping save one of the most beloved creatures on Earth from extinction.
For today, Mark Mullen, NBC news, Sichuan Province China.
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teeter: v. be rocked, rock, swing, fluctuate 蹒跚, 摇晃; 动摇; 站不稳; 玩跷跷板
libido: n. sexual instinct; person's instinctive drives and energies 欲望, 生命力, 性的冲动
trial and error: experiment and making a mistake, trying and failing 尝试错误法; 不断摸索; 反复试验
artificial insemination: 人工授精, 人工受孕
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