Taipei Zoo yesterday said giant panda Yuan Yuan (圓圓) was showing signs of being pregnant, but said it would be unable to confirm her pregnancy until the results of an ultrasound scan are available.
Yuan Yuan’s pregnancy would be welcome news for the zoo, as it would be the first time that a giant panda cub had been born in captivity in Taiwan.
Taipei Zoo spokesman Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰) said Yuan Yuan may be expecting because she was showing the usual signs of pregnancy in a panda, such as poor appetite, long hours of sleep and restlessness. However, the zoo said it would have to wait for the results of the ultrasound scan early next month to know for sure.
Photo provided courtesy of Taipei Zoo
“The zoo will continue to monitor Yuan Yuan’s situation, and if she is pregnant, the zoo would welcome a panda cub some time next month,” he said.
The zoo helped the female panda try to conceive via an artificial insemination program in March, and while the gestation period for a panda is about four to five months, it is difficult to confirm a panda’s pregnancy until two weeks before it gives birth because the fetus is so small, he said.
The zoo has failed in previous attempts to persuade Yuan Yuan and male panda Tuan Tuan (團團) to mate since the two pandas were donated to the zoo by China in 2008.
Every year, the zoo invites panda experts from the Wolong Panda Base in China’s Sichuan Province to help with the mating process. Chao said panda experts would visit the zoo again next month to help in monitoring Yuan Yuan’s situation.
According to the zoo, giant pandas breed between the ages of five and 20 and the average age for successful breeding is from seven to nine years old.
The two pandas are seven years old and the zoo will continue its effort to get Yuan Yuan pregnant next year if the effort has failed again this year.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
Tasa Meng Corp (采盟), which runs Taiwan Duty Free, could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,737) after the owner and employees took center stage in a photograph with government officials and the returning Premier12 baseball champions at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday evening. When Taiwan’s national baseball team arrived home fresh from their World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship victory in Tokyo, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was at the airport with Chinese Professional Baseball League commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to welcome back the team. However, after Hsiao and Tsai took a photograph with the team, Tasa Meng chairwoman Ku
RSS