Pandas 'to be cloned'

Attempts to breed pandas in captivity have had poor results

Scientists in China are claiming to have made a breakthrough in their attempts to clone the endangered giant panda.

A team at the Beijing Institute of Zoology (BIZ) say they have already successfully copied some of the key steps used in the creation of Dolly the cloned sheep last year by British scientists.

Giant pandas are now so rare that even in their homeland of China few exist outside of zoos.

Pandas are considered too rare to risk in laboratory experiments

In an effort to increase panda reproduction, China has been experimenting with artificial insemination over the past two decades.

However, as very few of the cubs born through this method have lived long enough to breed, the BIZ team sees cloning as a more productive alternative.

Pandas are considered too rare to use in laboratory experiments, so the scientists plan to inject the panda clones into the womb of another animal, probably a dog.

Professor Chen Dayaun from BIZ said: "A dog's foetus is in the womb for about the same length of time as a panda's. That is what makes it a better choice than a bear or a cow or some of the other animals that have been suggested."

Dolly: recently had a daughter by traditional methods

BBC correspondents say that in China the prospect of panda cloning has not led to the same ethical outcry that was caused in the west by the cloning of a sheep.

They say concern has focused more on whether this is the most effective way of boosting the panda population.

Some academics at Beijing University say it would be better to devote more resources to preserving the traditional habitats of the species. They also fear cloning would deny pandas the genetic enrichment they would gain from ordinary breeding.