Oh baby, this panda just hasn't conceived
Source: Agencies |
July 23, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GIANT panda Mei Xiang kept people guessing for months, but veterinarians at the National Zoo in Washington determined yesterday that she had failed to become pregnant for the fifth year in a row even after a Chinese breeding expert tried to help her conceive.
The veterinarians said Mei Xiang was experiencing a pseudopregnancy over the past several months, which means she ovulated but did not conceive. Keepers had been watching her behavior closely and monitoring her hormone levels in recent months because she had been eating less, staying in her den and cradling objects the way she did before she gave birth once before.
In January, the United States signed a new five-year, US$2.5 million agreement with the Chinese to keep Mei Xiang and her male panda Tian Tian in Washington. The agreement, announced during a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, came with the caveat that one or both of the pandas could be switched for others during the five years if they weren't able to breed.
It is difficult to determine when a panda is pregnant. Scientists say panda fetuses do not start developing until the final weeks of a gestation period. Mei Xiang stopped allowing animal keepers to perform ultrasound exams on her early this month.
The zoo was hopeful, though, because a Chinese expert helped artificially inseminate Mei Xiang in January. She and Tian Tian had attempted to mate but weren't successful. Their only other cub, Tai Shan, was born July 9, 2005, and has since been sent to China.
Washington's first panda couple, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing, arrived in 1972 as a gift to the American people after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China. They had five cubs, but none survived.
The veterinarians said Mei Xiang was experiencing a pseudopregnancy over the past several months, which means she ovulated but did not conceive. Keepers had been watching her behavior closely and monitoring her hormone levels in recent months because she had been eating less, staying in her den and cradling objects the way she did before she gave birth once before.
In January, the United States signed a new five-year, US$2.5 million agreement with the Chinese to keep Mei Xiang and her male panda Tian Tian in Washington. The agreement, announced during a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, came with the caveat that one or both of the pandas could be switched for others during the five years if they weren't able to breed.
It is difficult to determine when a panda is pregnant. Scientists say panda fetuses do not start developing until the final weeks of a gestation period. Mei Xiang stopped allowing animal keepers to perform ultrasound exams on her early this month.
The zoo was hopeful, though, because a Chinese expert helped artificially inseminate Mei Xiang in January. She and Tian Tian had attempted to mate but weren't successful. Their only other cub, Tai Shan, was born July 9, 2005, and has since been sent to China.
Washington's first panda couple, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing, arrived in 1972 as a gift to the American people after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China. They had five cubs, but none survived.
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