CHINESE ZOOLOGIST SUGGESTS CLONING PANDAS

July 22, 1997

BEIJING (AP) -- Giant pandas mate but once a year, producing at most two cubs, only one of which usually survives -- reproductive habits that try the patience of zoologists working to save the threatened species.

Frustrated with the failure of other artificial breeding methods, Chinese scientists are considering the possibility of cloning the animal that has become a symbol for endangered species everywhere.

"If we really can succeed in cloning them, then it will really work much better than the current methods in increasing their numbers," Chen Dayuan, a zoologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a recent interview with China's state-run Central Television.

Chen did not say that cloning research had begun, just that it might be a promising way to save the giant panda from extinction.

Giant pandas are native only to China, and only about 1,000 survive in the wild. Loss of habitat and poaching have devastated the species, spurring efforts to develop artificial breeding techniques.

The announcement in February that researchers in Scotland had succeeded in cloning an adult sheep by inserting genes from a six-year-old ewe into unfertilized eggs drew attention to China's own research.

After the announcement from Scotland, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the nation's top scientific body, made a point of banning research into the cloning of humans, for reasons of "ethical morality."

But scientists from the academy have spoken out in support of cloning animals, and have announced several breakthroughs of their own, including the cloning of a cow from embryonic cells.

The proposal to clone pandas reflects the frustrations of zoologists who, after decades of research, remain puzzled by many aspects of panda reproductive physiology.

For example, 13-year-old panda Xing Xing gave birth to three cubs, including a pair of twins that both survived. But she has not borne any cubs in the past seven years, the television report noted.

"The pandas, particularly the females, don't go into heat often enough because of endocrine disturbances," Chen said.

Not all Chinese scientists support research into test-tube pandas. Pan Wenshi, a Beijing University professor who has spent more than 20 years studying the animals, argues that so little is known about their reproductive physiology that such research could cause the animals harm.

Scientists have found that pandas, which have trouble conceiving and rearing healthy cubs in zoos, are more prolific breeders in the wild, Pan says.

The most urgent task for saving the giant panda, he contends, is to expand protected areas and guarantee them a large, natural habitat, preventing poaching and other threats to their survival.