Giant panda breeding season in Washington began this year when Mei Xiang, went into estrus over the weekend of April 28 – 29, 2012.
Li Desheng from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, and National Zoo scientists and veterinarians performed an artificial insemination Sunday night after they determined no competent natural breeding had occurred between Mei Xiang and male giant panda, Tian Tian. Li and the National Zoo’s panda team performed a second artificial insemination on April 30, 2012.
The National Zoo’s twitter feed (@NationalZoo) had even live updates of the procedure with the hashtag #pandaAI.
The two pandas have successfully bred before — Mei Xiang gave birth to male cub Tai Shan in 2005 — but they aren’t so good at getting it on themselves. Tai Shan was conceived via artificial insemination as well, and now resides in China.
Baby pandas are heart-meltingly cute, which is one of the reasons conservation efforts are in place for this species (more information here). Furthermore they present a big draw for any zoo. The National Zoo had to send Tai Shan back to China in 2010, because all pandas, regardless of where they are born, officially belong to China under international law. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are on loan to the United States until 2015.
Scientists determined that semen collected from Tian Tian while he was under general anesthesia Sunday night was not high enough quality to use for an artificial insemination. Therefore, on Sunday, April 29, 2012, Mei Xiang while under general anaesthesia was inseminated with thawed semen collected in 2005 from Tian Tian. Zoo staff will continue to monitor Mei Xiang’s hormone levels in the coming months and conduct ultrasounds to see if she is pregnant.
The Zoo received approval for its breeding plans from the China Wildlife and Conservation Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which monitors giant panda research programs in the United States. Desheng came to assist the National Zoo panda team in accordance with the Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement through 2015.
The above news item is reprinted from materials available at Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Huffington Post Green. Original text may be edited for content and length.
(Source: website National Zoo, 30.04.2012; Huff Post Green, 30.04.2012)