BEIJING: Scientists in China have mapped the genome of the giant panda, which could yield a better understanding of why the endangered animals are so famously coy of sex.

"We hope the genome map can help to explain genetically why giant pandas have little reproductive capability so that scientists can help them deliver more cubs," Wang Jun, a scientist with the Beijing Genomics Institute, told the official newspaper China Daily.

Chinese experts say there are only about 1600 wild pandas in China, mainly in the south-west, and another 200 or so are being raised in captivity in Chinese breeding centres.