Panda factory new babies

A giant panda breeding centre in China has shown pictures of its new crop of babies.

The giant panda breeding centre in Chengdu, in south-west China's Sichuan province, started with six pandas in 1987 - it now has more than 100.

China has started its once-a-decade panda census, trying to determine how many of the endangered animals live in the wild, amid efforts to boost numbers. It is the fourth head-count since the launch in the 1970s.

The census is also expected to check pandas' living conditions, ages and any changes in their habitat.

The count a decade ago found 1,596 pandas were left in the wild in China.

Wild pandas are threatened by a loss of habitat and poaching. They are also bear few young with females in the wild usually only having a cub once every two or three years.

Fertility rates of captive giant pandas - of which there are more than 300 in China - are even lower.

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