A Chinese laboratory assistant works at a panda sperm bank in the giant panda breeding...

A Chinese laboratory assistant works at a panda sperm bank in the giant panda breeding research centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province, September 19, 2001. Since the first cub was artificially conceived in 1963, more than 210 have been born in China and 20 overseas. But only half have survived to adulthood. Chinese scientists are fighting the main cause of the giant panda's decline -- the rapid destruction of the natural bomboo forests. Only about 1,000 pandas survive in the wild. Chinese characters read \"Sperm Bank\". Picture taken September 19, 2001.