The Taipei Zoo has failed in another attempt to produce a baby panda, as panda experts from China confirmed that giant panda Yuan Yuan (圓圓) was not pregnant.
The zoo, which in May said that Yuan Yuan was showing signs of pregnancy, announced yesterday that the effort this year to help the female panda conceive via an artificial insemination program has failed following 162 days of close observation and pregnancy tests.
Taipei Zoo director Jason Yeh (葉傑生) said panda expert Huang Yan (黃炎) from Wolong Panda Base in China’s Sichuan Province visited the zoo on Wednesday and confirmed that Yuan Yuan was not pregnant.
“The two pandas are now six years old and will become more sexually mature next year. We will not give up on our efforts. The zoo will prepare them for mating and another artificial insemination program next year,” Yeh said.
The zoo started preparing for Yuan Yuan and male Tuan Tuan (團團) to mate after the two pandas, donated to the zoo by China in 2008, showed signs of being in heat in February.
Zookeepers collected sperm from Tuan Tuan for artificial insemination on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 after the two failed to mate and it invited experts from China to assist with the artificial insemination.
In May, the zoo said Yuan Yuan may be expecting because she was showing signs of pregnancy such as a poor appetite, long hours of sleep and restlessness.
Yeh said Yuan Yuan’s appetite and sleep patterns have returned to normal and the zoo would try again next year, as pandas have only one estrus cycle every year.
According to the zoo, giant pandas breed between the ages of five and 20 and the average age for successful breeding is from seven to nine years old.
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