Panda Pandemonium June 25, 2012
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- © Ivan A. Hernandez.
- A baby panda plays in a enclosure at the Giant Panda Research...
A baby panda plays in a enclosure at the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province on June 24, 2012, as thousands of visitors gather for the Duanwu festival or better known as the Dragon Boat festival. China engages in "panda diplomacy", using the endangered but iconic bears as diplomatic gifts to other countries, and also runs a lucrative trade hiring the animals out to foreign zoos, as only around 1,600 remain in the wild in China, with some 300 others in captivity.
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Giant panda at Ueno Zoo thought to be pregnant - The Daily Yomiuri
Jiji Press
Giant panda Shin Shin at the Ueno Zoo may be pregnant, the Tokyo zoological park said Tuesday.
"There is a high chance of pregnancy," Yutaka Fukuda, deputy head of the zoo, said.
As the 6-year-old female has started to show signs of being pregnant, such as hormonal and physical changes, the zoo decided to suspend the public viewing of the animal from July 3.
If Shin Shin is confirmed to be pregnant, her baby is expected to be born in July or August.
According to the zoo, Shin Shin lost her appetite in early June. A blood test conducted June 19 showed rises in hormonal levels, a sign of pregnancy.
If a baby panda is born, it will be the first in 24 years at the zoo.
Giant pandas have a 45 percent chance of giving birth to twins. But in many cases, only one of the two babies can survive unless there is human intervention.
The zoo will prepare for the birth of twins with new cages and incubators.
Giant Pandas Have Special Dumplings on Dragon Boat Festival - NTDTV
Two giant pandas enjoyed zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings, a traditional food for the Duanwu Festival, at a zoo in Shandong Province on Friday.
The Nanshan Zoo of Yantai City invited visitors to make special zongzi packed with diced carrots, apples and shredded steamed corn bread.
[Wang Ziting, Visitor to Nanshan Zoo]:
"We came to the zoo today to see pandas. The zongzi we made today is different from what we normally eat as its fillings are different. It is packed with fruits and steamed corn bread. It was a lot of fun to do this."
Visitors fed the giant pandas the special dumplings the day before Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year.
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