Taipei Zoo to help pandas reproduce

Source: Shanghai Daily | 02-02-2009 10:14

A little over a month after the pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan arrived in Taiwan, Taipei Zoo officials are preparing to help them reproduce.

The zoo even has a plan to show them videos of pandas mating, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ye Jie-sheng, director of the zoo, said he hoped the pair would produce cubs by next spring.

The zoo has arranged daily training for the pandas to help them increase their physical strength and mutual intimacy.

Food has been hung at the top of climbing facilities to urge them to exercise their rear legs, which play an important role in giant pandas' mating habits, Xinhua said.

Yuan Yuan, the female, has shown some signs of being on heat, but the sexual life between the two should be better after she has matured, officials at the zoo said.

Zookeepers have started collecting the pair's excrement and urine every day to test hormone levels. Tuan Tuan is still very quiet, Ye said.

Pandas are sexually receptive between March and May. But most only show an interest in the opposite sex for one or two days.

The gestation period for a female panda varies between 90 and 160 days, with an average pregnancy lasting 135 days.