Panda Pandemonium August 10, 2012
- Yang Guang at the Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland on February 14,...
- Tiny claws on perfect paws
ddbfrog has added a photo to the pool:
Bai Yun keeps her baby safe & warm, tucked under her chin.
© Homer’s Travels.
© Paul Gilzean.
TAISHANs cradle of bamboo 8-8-12
Is the TV Remote Down There?
August 7, 2012 at Zoo Atlanta: Shandy, female Red Panda, comfortably escounced in her easy chair ... can't find the remote to watch the Pandalympics! And it's the Floor Exercise Finals!
And Don't Forget the Extra Leafeater Biscuits on that Large Pizza!
Adelaide pandas may mate this weekend - The Australian
SEX films won't help, but Adelaide Zoo is hoping nature will take its course this weekend with a first mating of giant pandas Wang Wang and Funi.
Their original breeding attempt last year was a fizzler, with Wang Wang "turning everything into a play session" while his partner Funi "did everything right".
But senior panda keeper Simone Davey says the animals are now more familiar with each other and hopefully will mate in the upcoming one to two days when Funi will be fertile.
"We also hope Wang Wang will know the difference between Funi's normal, everyday behaviours, and when she shows physical signs of coming into season," Ms Davey said.
Funi, six years old on Thursday, and Wang Wang, seven at the end of August, arrived in Adelaide late in 2009 on loan from China for a decade.
The zoo called in human fertility experts Repromed to pinpoint the exact time this year when Funi will ovulate, which could be any time from Friday to Monday.
Repromed is taking twice-daily urine samples from Funi for hormone analysis.
Ms Davey said the pandas hadn't been together for over two months, in preparation for the breeding time.
When the testing and her behaviour indicate Funi is fertile, they will be re-united.
But what if Wang Wang just plays around again?
Could films of pandas copulating help?
Ms Davey says they have been shown to other pandas in the past, with no results.
"It's quite common with apes because they are so intelligent, but it doesn't seem to transfer to pandas," she said.
If it all works out, Wang Wang and Funi could mate several times this weekend.
"But quite often, when in captivity, it is just that one occurrence and she will say 'enough is enough'," Ms Davey says.
Perhaps, a case of Wham, Bamboo, Thank You Ma'am?
Should a successful mating occur, the zoo won't know if Funi's pregnant until two weeks before she gives birth.
A giant panda pregnancy can only be confirmed by ultrasounds when the cub is big enough to be seen.
That's because progesterone levels rise both in pregnancy and pseudo pregnancy make it very difficult to differentiate between the two.
Gestation is usually about five months, but the longest on record has been 365 days.
Ms Davey says if the pair do procreate, the cub will go back to China when it's aged two to two-and-a half, the time they naturally leave their mother.
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