San Diego's Favorite Panda Pregnant?
Bai Yun Shows Signs Of Pregnancy
San Diego Zoo resident Bai Yun is showing signs of pregnancy, but the panda's nest-building and loss of appetite could be a "pseudo-pregnancy," zoo officials said Wednesday.
Because so little is known about the species, keepers may not know for sure until either just before a birth or until all possible delivery dates are past.
"They can exhibit every sign in the world that they are pregnant, including loss of appetite and nest building -- all those things you would think would indicate pregnancy -- but in the end there is no baby," Yadira Galindo of the San Diego Zoo said.
"She is exhibiting all the signs also, but of course we won't know if it is a pseudo-pregnancy or a true pregnancy for a while," she added.
The whole month of August could be open to a birth, Galindo said. Bai Yun was artificially inseminated April 9-10 this year.
Bai Yun and her male counterpart Shi Shi are on loan to the zoo from China for breeding research purposes.
On Aug. 21, 1999, she gave birth to Hua Mei (pictured, right). Bai Yun had been artificially inseminated that year about the same time as this year.
Keepers turned to artificial insemination with Shi Shi's sperm because he never showed any interest in Bai Yun's advances.
Two pandas at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City showed signs of pregnancy, but keepers recently determined they weren't.
Three pandas at that zoo were artificially inseminated in March, as part of a joint effort by the San Diego Zoo, the Japanese Ueno Zoological Gardens and the Chapultepec Zoo. The sperm came from Ling Ling, a male at the Japanese zoo.
"Having worked so diligently with Mexico City and Tokyo in trying to revive reproduction by their pandas, we were keenly disappointed when the three females in Mexico City failed to deliver any cubs this year," said Don Lindburg, panda team leader of the Zoological Society of San Diego.
"We are not defeated," he said, speaking of the Mexico City effort. "We will try again next year."
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PANDA INFO
BAI YUN & BABY
On Aug. 21, 1999, she gave birth to Hua Mei (pictured, right). Bai Yun had been artificially inseminated that year about the same time as this year.
Keepers turned to artificial insemination with Shi Shi's sperm because he never showed any interest in Bai Yun's advances.
Two pandas at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City showed signs of pregnancy, but keepers recently determined they weren't.
Three pandas at that zoo were artificially inseminated in March, as part of a joint effort by the San Diego Zoo, the Japanese Ueno Zoological Gardens and the Chapultepec Zoo. The sperm came from Ling Ling, a male at the Japanese zoo.
"Having worked so diligently with Mexico City and Tokyo in trying to revive reproduction by their pandas, we were keenly disappointed when the three females in Mexico City failed to deliver any cubs this year," said Don Lindburg, panda team leader of the Zoological Society of San Diego.
"We are not defeated," he said, speaking of the Mexico City effort. "We will try again next year."
- July 2, 2001: Pandas Move Into Refurbished Home
- April 12, 2001: San Diego Zoo Panda Undergoes Artificial Insemination
- February 24, 2001: San Diego's Favorite Panda On Her Own
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