CHENGDU, China (Reuters) — At the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base on Thursday (September 29), 23 panda cubs, made their first public debut ahead of China’s National Day, which falls on October 1.
Aged between one and four months old, the cubs lay on their bellies, occasionally exerting just a little effort to crawl a few inches forward.
This year, the research base has welcomed almost double the number of newborn pandas, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently downgraded the species from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable” on its Red List of Threatened Species.
