Giant panda twins were born in a breeding center in southwestern China.
The twins’ birth is a step forward in the country’s attempt to preserve the species’ survival, which has been suffering due to climate change and a loss of habitat, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
A male and female panda were born to their mother, Qin Qin, at the Qinling Panda Research Center in the Shaanxi province.
A Giant panda named Qin Qin has given birth to twin cubs at a breeding center in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. https://t.co/mWSBcVI526 pic.twitter.com/bBsqSDgoNC
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 24, 2022
In 2016, the giant panda was upgraded internationally from “endangered” to “vulnerable.” Five years later, Chinese conservation officials announced that they were similarly changing giant pandas’ status to a vulnerable species from an endangered one.
As of 2021, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that there are over 1,800 giant pandas living in the wilderness and 500 in captivity in zoos and reserves.
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Habitat loss has contributed to the drop in the panda population. Infrastructure such as dams, roads, and railways, as well as deforestation due to climate change or intentional clearing, prevents pandas from finding new bamboo resources, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
