China sees 32 panda cubs survive in 2014

CHENGDU - China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) announced on Friday that 32 of its 36 newborn cubs survived in 2014.

This brings the total number of captive pandas in China to 394.

CCRCGP has leased 24 of its pandas to nine countries with the latest friendly gesture made in February, when a pair of giant pandas were sent from the center to their new home in the Pairi Daizi Zoo in Belgium.

Among the most memorable events of 2014, Juxiao, one of the center's mothers, gave birth to the world's only surviving panda triplets in July, 2014.

CCRCGP also saw a female panda named Xuexue (snow) released in to the wild. It was the fourth captive-bred panda released to the wild, after Xiangxiang was released in 2006.

The center plans to help more pandas enter the wild in 2015, as 2014 saw the opening of a new panda training center in Wolong, Sichuan, and work began on another one in Huaying Mountain, Sichuan.

Among the three pandas previously released into the wild, only one died due to fighting with other males. The other two, Tao Tao, a male, was released in 2012, and Zhang Xiang, the elder sister of Xuexue, who was released in 2013, are both in a sound condition.

Researchers track the animals with the help of GPS collars, radio positioning tools and DNA samples.