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A tale of two bases for pandas

By Liu Xiangrui and Huang Zhiling (China Daily)

14:44, February 25, 2012

Pandas eat bamboo at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda's Bifengxia Base in Ya'an, Sichuan province, on Tuesday. (Photo by Jiang Dong / China Daily)

YA'AN, Sichuan - Tan Chengbin has just entered into what are likely to be his busiest days at work during the entire year.

Even with seven years of experience as a panda keeper, he is as nervous as he is happy about the approach of the annual mating season for giant pandas.

"Panda matings and births are big things for me," said Tan, who works at the Bifengxia Base under the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Ya'an, Sichuan province.

"I have to get everything prepared in advance."

After a deadly earthquake hit Sichuan in 2008, more than 50 artificially bred panda cubs have been born at the center.

The Bifengxia Base, which has become the biggest breeding center for pandas in the world, plays an essential role in efforts to conserve the rare species.

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RxqFhXsBCPryTK at 2012-03-11109.230.216.*
Live birth gender ratio not rnavelet. 15-64 age group is. China with high infant mortality and premature adult deaths comes back to the herd if you view that demographic. Also there are 200 million migrant workers mostly men, mostly young, away from wives and girlfriends; no discernible social problems. Gender imbalance is not an issue.

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