雙語新聞：大熊貓性冷淡愁煞飼養員

大熊貓性冷淡

　　Giant pandas show little interest in sex behind bars but China nevertheless is looking forward to a baby boom with 10 females already pregnant and 23 on heat.

　　柵欄之中的大熊貓對性不感興趣，但中國方麪仍然期望一個熊貓的生育高峰：10衹雌性熊貓已經懷孕，另有23衹正処於發情期。

　　"China expects a record number of baby giant pandas to be born this year," Xinhua news agency said of two breeding and research centres in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Last year, 19 baby pandas were born by natural or artificial insemination in China's breeding bases and 16 of them survived.

　　在談到西南部省份四川的兩個熊貓養殖及研究中心時，新華社說：“中國預計今年出生的熊貓幼仔數量會達到新的記錄。” 去年，中國各熊貓養殖基地經由自然或人工授精方法繁殖出了19衹熊貓幼仔，其中16衹得以存活。

　　"The survival rate of panda cubs has risen from 30 percent several decades ago to nearly 90 percent now as a result of modern methods to promote mating and feeding," Xinhua said. But it admitted it was hard to tickle their interest in sex and the pregnancies had little to do with spring in the air.

　　新華社說：“由於採用了現代方法來促進交配和進食，熊貓幼仔的存活率已經從幾十年前的30%提高到了現在的近90%。”不過，新華社也承認，激起熊貓的性欲很不容易，而熊貓的懷孕也與臨近的春天沒有什麽關系。

　　Forestry authority statistics show fewer than 10 percent of male giant pandas mate naturally and fewer than 30 percent of females conceive naturally."Giant pandas show little instinctive behaviour in captivity, especially sexual desire, essential for natural mating and conception," Xinhua said.

　　根據林業部門的統計，自然交配的雄性大熊貓不足10%，而自然受孕的雌性大熊貓也不到30%。新華社說：“深陷囹圄的大熊貓天性幾近泯滅，在性方麪更是沒什麽興趣，而這是熊貓自然交配和受孕的關鍵。”

　　Experts estimate that 1,000 giant pandas, one of the world's most endangered species, live in the foggy mountains around the Sichuan Basin, while about 140 live in captivity around the world.

　　大熊貓是世界上処境最危險的物種之一，據專家估計，有1000衹大熊貓生活在四川盆地周圍那些雲霧籠罩的山裡，而世界各地人工飼養狀態下的大熊貓則有140衹左右。