【資料圖】
Atlanta Zoo officials said on Friday that twin giant panda cubs, the first to be born and survive in the United States, have both turned out to be female.
美國亞特蘭大動物園官員上周五表示,首對在美國出生和活下來的雙胞胎大熊貓幼崽其實都是雌性。The zoo, which initially had identified both cubs as male after they were born in July, said DNA testing had now shown they are both female.雙胞胎大熊貓在七月出生時,動物園把兩只幼崽都鑒定為雄性,但現在根據DNA測試顯示它們都是雌性。
"Prior to the time they are at least 3 years old, there are no obvious external cues as to their sex." the zoo said in a statement.動物園在一份聲明中說:“熊貓在三歲之前,沒有顯著的外在特征來區分性別。”
Members of the public this fall helped choose the twins" names, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, which come from a Chinese idiom meaning "something indescribably beautiful and magnificent."今年秋天,市民幫忙給這對雙胞胎取名為“美輪”和“美奐”。這來源于一個中國成語,形容某物“宏偉美麗難以言表。”
The DNA tests showed a third panda, 3-year-old Po also initially believed to be male, is female as well. The male cub was named after the character voiced by Jack Black in “Kung Fu Panda.”DNA測試顯示,還有第三只熊貓的性別也搞錯了。2010年出生的三歲熊貓“阿寶” 原來被認為是雄性,其實也是雌性。當年這只熊貓幼崽就是以動畫片《功夫熊貓》中的角色阿寶命名的(杰克·布萊克配音)。
Po and the twin cubs were conceived through artificial insemination with the same set of parents.
“阿寶”和這對雙胞胎幼崽是同一對熊貓夫婦通過人工授精孕育的。Giant pandas are endangered and live only in a few mountain ranges in central China. An estimated 1,600 live in the wild and about 300 in captivity, mostly in China, zoo officials said.動物園官員說,瀕危動物大熊貓只生活于中國中部的部分山脈中。大概有1600只大熊貓生活在野外,還有大約300只圈養的大熊貓,大部分都在中國。