The birth of tiny panda cubs - seen live on television for the first time - was expected to captivate viewers in China.
在電視上首次直播小熊貓幼崽的出生過(guò)程，肯定會(huì)吸引中國(guó)的很多觀眾。

But fans of the endangered animals will be disappointed, because there will be no pitter patter of tiny paws any time soon.
但是熊貓迷們可能要失望了，因?yàn)樽罱赡懿粫?huì)有熊貓小幼崽出生了。

Experts say that the 'pregnant' panda who was to be the star of the show is not expecting after all, and may have been faking a pregnancy to cash in on cushy living quarters and extra treats at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre in China.
中國(guó)成都大熊貓繁育研究基地的專家稱，本來(lái)會(huì)成為這次電視直播明星的“懷孕的”大熊貓事實(shí)上并沒(méi)有懷孕，它可能是為了住得更舒適、得到跟多的優(yōu)待而出現(xiàn)了“假孕”現(xiàn)象。

Giant panda, Ai Hin, showed signs of being pregnant last month, according to reports by state news agency Xinhua.
據(jù)新華社報(bào)道，上個(gè)月大熊貓愛(ài)浜出現(xiàn)懷孕的跡象。

But experts at the centre in the south western province of Sichuan, think she experienced a phantom pregnancy.
但是之后大熊貓基地的專家認(rèn)為愛(ài)浜這種情況屬于“假妊娠”。

Ai Hin’s ‘behaviours and physiological indexes returned to normal’ ahead of her TV debut, they said.
他們說(shuō)，愛(ài)浜在其直播首秀之前被發(fā)現(xiàn)“行為和生理指標(biāo)恢復(fù)了正常”。

It is standard practice at the breeding centre to take extra care of expectant giant pandas, as every cub is so important to preserving the highly threatened species.
在大熊貓繁育基地，給大熊貓“準(zhǔn)媽媽”們特殊的照顧是很正常的，因?yàn)閷?duì)于保護(hù)這種高瀕危物種來(lái)說(shuō)每一只幼崽都是十分重要的。

Mothers-to-be are housed in air-conditioned single rooms and receive 24-hour care.
“準(zhǔn)媽媽”們都會(huì)住進(jìn)單獨(dú)的“空調(diào)房”里，并且安排專人24小時(shí)看護(hù)。

It is thought that the intelligent animals know their care improves when they are expecting.
有人認(rèn)為，這種聰明的動(dòng)物可能知道了自己在懷孕時(shí)會(huì)受到優(yōu)待。

Wu Kongju, an expert at the centre told Xinhua: ‘They also receive more buns, fruits and bamboo, so some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life.’
大熊貓基地的專家吳孔菊告訴新華社記者：“懷孕的大熊貓還能得到更多的窩窩頭、水果和竹子等食物，所以聰明的它們?yōu)榱颂岣咦约旱纳钇焚|(zhì)可能會(huì)使些‘小手段’。”

Some of the bears continue to display pregnant behaviour after noticing their change of treatment and experts say that it is common for endangered animals to have phantom pregnancies.
有些大熊貓?jiān)诖鲎兓笕詴?huì)表現(xiàn)出懷孕的癥狀，專家稱大熊貓的“假孕”現(xiàn)象是比較普遍的。

Experts were led to believe that Ai Hin was pregnant as she became less mobile and had less of an appetite. They also noticed a surge in hormones at first – before realising the pregnancy wasn’t real, Gulf News reported.
愛(ài)浜當(dāng)時(shí)是因?yàn)槌霈F(xiàn)運(yùn)動(dòng)量減少、食欲降低等情況讓專家們誤以為她懷孕了。據(jù)《海灣新聞》報(bào)道，專家們?cè)谝庾R(shí)到愛(ài)浜是“假孕”之前，還在其體內(nèi)發(fā)現(xiàn)了孕激素值上升。

Breeding centres such as Chengdu are needed to stop giant pandas teetering on the edge of extinction.
成都大熊貓基地的任務(wù)就是為了挽救這種瀕臨滅絕邊緣的動(dòng)物。

The animals’ natural habitat in the mountains has become more built-up and the bears have a low reproductive rate, making their survival perilous.
由于大熊貓的自然棲息地越來(lái)越少，再加上其繁殖率越來(lái)越低，它們的生存面臨著危險(xiǎn)。

Female giant pandas reach maturity at between four and eight years old and only ovulate once a year in the spring.
雌性大熊貓的成熟期為4-8歲，但只在每年春天排卵一次。

A short period of two to three days is the only time they can conceive and while a panda often gives birth to twins, only one usually survives.
它們能懷孕的時(shí)間只有短短的兩三天，而當(dāng)一只大熊貓產(chǎn)下雙胞胎時(shí)往往只有一只能夠存活。

Over a lifetime of around 35 years, female pandas typically only successfully raise five to eight cubs, so their slow breeding rate prevents the population from recovering quickly.
一只大熊貓一般能活35年左右，但雌性大熊貓一生中只能成功養(yǎng)育5-8個(gè)幼崽。低繁殖率使大熊貓無(wú)法快速恢復(fù)原有數(shù)量。

There are just 1,600 pandas living in the wild in China, as well as some 300 kept in captivity.
目前在中國(guó)，野生大熊貓僅有1600只，而圈養(yǎng)大熊貓僅有300多只。