美国动物园：3年后发现搞错熊猫性别

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.美国亚特兰大动物园官员上周五表示，首对在美国出生和活下来的双胞胎大熊猫幼崽其实都是雌性。

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.双胞胎大熊猫在七月出生时，动物园把两只幼崽都鉴定为雄性，但现在根据DNA测试显示它们都是雌性。

"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.动物园在一份声明中说：“熊猫在三岁之前，没有显著的外在特征来区分性别。”

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，市民帮忙给这对双胞胎取名为“美轮”和“美奂”。这来源于一个中国成语，形容某物“宏伟美丽难以言表。”

The DNA tests showed a third panda, 3-year-old Po also initially believed to be male, is female as well.DNA测试显示，还有第三只熊猫的性别也搞错了。2010年出生的三岁熊猫“阿宝” 原来被认为是雄性，其实也是雌性。

Po and the twin cubs were conceived through artificial insemination with the same set of parents.“阿宝”和这对双胞胎幼崽是同一对熊猫夫妇通过人工授精孕育的。

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.动物园官员说，濒危动物大熊猫只生活于中国中部的部分山脉中。大概有1600只大熊猫生活在野外，还有大约300只圈养的大熊猫，大部分都在中国。