Yahoo – AFP,
22 Sep 2014
Britain's only female giant panda has suffered a failed pregnancy, her second in two years, Edinburgh Zoo said on Monday.
Tian Tian, the female panda at Edinburgh Zoo, relaxes in her compound on August 9, 2013 |
Britain's only female giant panda has suffered a failed pregnancy, her second in two years, Edinburgh Zoo said on Monday.
Edinburgh
said its 10-year-old panda Tian Tian, who is spending a decade in the Scottish
capital on loan from China with her male companion Yang Guang, was on course to
carry to full term, but "sadly this did not happen".
"She
is no longer pregnant," said Iain Valentine, director of giant pandas for
the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
"Panda
reproduction and biology is complex. All data gathered since conception took
place pointed to a pregnant panda likely to carry to full term. Sadly this did
not happen."
"There
is no evidence she has had a miscarriage, so late reabsorption of the foetus
could have occurred," he said.
Tian Tian
("Sweetie") was artificially inseminated on April 13 after repeated
attempts to make her mate with Yang Guang ("Sunshine"), and her
pregnancy was announced in August.
Edinburgh
is paying around $1 million (750,000 euros) a year to Chinese authorities for
Tian Tian and Yang Guang -- the only pair of giant pandas in Britain -- who
arrived in 2011.
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