China ? The panda population exploded in 2006, relatively speaking.

Some 34 pandas were born by artificial insemination in 2006 and 30 survived – both record numbers for the endangered species, Cao Qingyao, a spokesman for the State Forestry Administration, was quoted as saying by the Xinhua News Agency.

The mini boom pushed up the number of pandas bred in captivity in China to 217.

China has been raising pandas through artificial insemination for nearly 50 years, mostly at two research facilities in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The panda is one of the world’s rarest animals, with about 1,590 living in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan and the western province of Shaanxi.

Giant pandas have a very low fertility rate because they are mostly sexually inactive. Female pandas become pregnant only once a year and deliver two cubs at most each time.

The fertility of captive giant pandas is even lower because they do not move much, experts said.