Taipei Zoo threw a party yesterday to celebrate the fifth birthday of Yuan Zai (圓仔), the first giant panda to be born in Taiwan.
Yuan Zai was born at the zoo on July 6, 2013, and has been a big attraction ever since.
The zoo invited members of the public to the party, for which zookeepers made two special birthday cakes from her favorite foods, including ice cubes, apples and corn steam buns.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Despite the excitement of those in attendance, Yuan Zai showed little interest in the cakes, which she sniffed a few times before deciding to stroll around her enclosure.
She later returned to the cakes and grabbed an apple on top of one of them, taking several bites before throwing it aside.
Zookeepers said that she is experiencing pseudocyesis, or a phantom pregnancy, a phenomenon that occurs when mature pandas begin menstruation.
Yuan Zai became sexually mature at the age of four. This year, the signs of pseudocyesis have been obvious, zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said.
When asked if she would be mated with a panda from another country, Tsao said that the matter would be discussed at an international conference on giant panda conservation in November.
Wang I-ming (王怡敏), head of Taipei Zoo’s Giant Panda Hall, said that Yuan Zai has been placed on the mating list of an international committee on giant panda breeding techniques.
In addition, Taipei Zoo has good relations with the Wolong National Nature Reserve’s conservation center for giant pandas in China, Wang said, adding that he hopes the right arrangements would be made for Yuan Zai.
However, sources familiar with the matter said that China maintains strict control over the breeding of giant pandas, which are found only in China.
Yuan Zai was bred using artificial insemination. Her parents, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), were given to Taiwan in December 2008 as part of China’s “panda diplomacy.”
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