Aside from the World Cup, Mexico has passed a milestone of another sort. A pair of pandas at the capital city's zoo have just broken a record. CGTN's Alasdair Baverstock has more.

Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo is home to rare and wonderful creatures from around the world. Panda bear munching on bamboo, sleeping in its hammock. But its pandas are not only crowd pleasers; the zoo's two bamboo-munchers are also record breakers. Shuan Shuan receiving daily check-up. Shuan Shuan just turned 31-making her the oldest panda in the world outside of China itself. Xin Xin is right behind her, turning twenty-eight next month.

MIRIAM NOGUEIRA CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER, CHAPULTEPEC ZOO "Shuan is a very noble old lady. She's very tranquil and passive. Xin on the other hand is very sassy."

From their bamboo-filled section of the zoo, the pandas attract as many as fifty-thousand visitors a day. 

"They're my favorite animal, and I'm happy Mexico is doing its best to help their endangered species."

"They're very friendly, and when they aren't sleeping they're always very nice to see."

ALASDAIR BAVERSTOCK MEXICO CITY "With the average life expectancy of a panda kept in captivity at about twenty-two years, both Shuan Shuan, and her niece Xin Xin, are well into their golden years. And enjoying them, their keepers say, due to the careful regimen of diet and exercise."

MIRIAM NOGUEIRA CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER, CHAPULTEPEC ZOO "They are a difficult species to understand, because while they are bears, their diet and characteristics are different from other species. We supplement their bamboo diet with fiber, and have discovered that with training we no longer need to anesthetize them for medical examination. It's why they have lived so long."

The zoo's two pandas undergo a daily routine of exercise and veterinary checkups, allowing their keepers to keep a close eye on their health. The Chapultepec Zoo has been more successful than any other in breeding pandas outside China. There have been eight live births in all here - including the first ever born in captivity outside China. Zoo director Claudia Levy says it's a learning curve that never ends.

CLAUDIA LEVY DIRECTOR, CHAPULTEPEC ZOO "We have helped a lot in gathering and sharing information on how to care for the panda. Our keepers have travelled all over the world, sharing the training techniques that have made their daily checkups possible. By sharing our knowledge further, we ourselves can learn more about how best to care for these animals."

As Chapultepec's pandas advance through old age, the zoo's staff say they continue to learn about how best to care for these animals, hoping to help other zoos around the world raise record-breaking pandas as well. Alasdair Baverstock, CGTN, Mexico City.