Want China Times, CNA 2015-07-16
Two panda experts flew to Taipei from China Tuesday to help the Taipei Zoo monitor giant panda Yuan Yuan, who has been showing signs of pregnancy lately, though zookeepers are yet not able to provide confirmation.
Yuan Yuan, July 14. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Zoo) |
Two panda experts flew to Taipei from China Tuesday to help the Taipei Zoo monitor giant panda Yuan Yuan, who has been showing signs of pregnancy lately, though zookeepers are yet not able to provide confirmation.
A spokesman
of the zoo said Tuesday that Yuan Yuan received two artificial inseminations on
March 26 and 27.
On June 11,
zookeepers found the 11-year-old panda apparently losing her appetite and
exhibiting other signs of pregnancy.
As Yuan
Yuan resisted an attempted ultrasound check, zookeepers are not yet able to
confirm the pregnancy, the spokesman said.
Yuan Yuan
gave birth to her first cub, Yuan Zai, on July 6, 2013. The female panda was
the result of numerous attempts by the Taipei Zoo to artificially inseminate
Yuan Yuan.
Yuan Yuan
came to Taiwan together with a male panda Tuan Tuan in December 2008 as gifts
from Beijing. The pandas, especially their offspring Yuan Zai, have become the
most viewed animals at the Taipei Zoo.
According
to the spokesman, the delivery date is usually around one month after showing
signs of pregnancy.
The
zookeepers will be able to identify whether Yuan Yuan is really pregnant or not
within a week, and if it is confirmed, she may deliver the cub soon.
The
gestation of giant pandas ranges from 95 to 160 days.
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