China announces birth of rare panda triplets

Triplet panda cubs rest in an incubator at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. China announced Tuesday the birth of extremely rare panda triplets in a further success for the country's artificial breeding program.
Triplet panda cubs rest in an incubator at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. China announced Tuesday the birth of extremely rare panda triplets in a further success for the country's artificial breeding program.

BEIJING — China announced Tuesday the birth of extremely rare panda triplets in a further success for the country's artificial breeding program.

The three cubs were born July 29 in the southern city of Guangzhou, but breeders delayed an announcement until they were sure all three would survive, the official China News Service said.

The mother, Ju Xiao, and the three as-yet-unnamed cubs are healthy, the news agency said. Photos showed the three sleeping and standing in their incubator, their bodies pink and mostly hairless. Ju Xiao was impregnated in March with sperm from a panda living at a Guangzhou zoo.

Ju Xiao was under round-the-clock care for the final weeks of her pregnancy, according to the report. The triplets were born within four hours and currently weigh between 8 ounces and 12 ounces.

Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more.

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