Hong Kong Ocean Park's Two Giant Pandas Successfully Breed Naturally, Expected to 'Have a Baby' This Year
On April 7th, the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center announced, according to Hong Kong Ocean Park, the 14-year-old female giant panda ‘Ying Ying’ and the 14-year-old male giant panda ‘Lele’ displayed mating behavior starting in late March, and successfully completed natural mating on the morning of April 6th, this is the first successful attempt since 2010, hoping that this year will bring good news to Hong Kong with the arrival of ‘Ding’ (a baby panda).
Since the late March of this year, the giant panda ‘Ying Ying’ has been exhibiting playful water behaviors, while ‘Lele’ has started marking scents and sniffing ‘Ying Ying’s’ scent. After testing, ‘Ying Ying’’s hormone levels have changed, and the Ocean Park veterinary team confirmed that the two pandas have entered their mating season. The animal and conservation executive director of Ocean Park, Michael Bos, said, ‘Ying Ying’ and ‘Lele’ arrived in Hong Kong in 2007, and have been trying natural mating since 2010, but unfortunately, they have not been successful. After years of trying and learning, they finally succeeded in natural mating this year, which made everyone jump for joy because the pregnancy rate of natural mating is higher than that of artificial insemination. If ‘Ying Ying’ gets pregnant, the earliest signs of pregnancy will appear around late June, of course, there may also be false pregnancy. Hoping for good news this year to bring ‘Ding’ (a baby panda) to Hong Kong, to contribute to the conservation of giant pandas.
Ocean Park stated that they will closely monitor ‘Ying Ying’’s hormone levels and behavioral changes, and will announce the latest news to the public when appropriate.
The panda center and Hong Kong Ocean Park’s panda romance began in 1999, and has lasted for almost 21 years. The two parties have maintained close contact and made contributions to the giant panda protection research cause. The panda center hopes that ‘Ying Ying’ will bring good news this year and give birth to a panda baby in Hong Kong.
Background Information
In 1999, the pair of giant pandas ‘An An’ and ‘Jia Jia’ were gifted to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the central government and settled in Hong Kong Ocean Park, becoming a household name in Hong Kong. The panda romance between the panda center and Hong Kong Ocean Park began. On October 16, 2016, female giant panda ‘Jia Jia’ passed away after euthanasia in Ocean Park when she was 38 years old, which is equivalent to 110 years in human terms, the longest-lived giant panda in the world. In 2007, on the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the central government gifted another pair of giant pandas to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. After strict selection, the two giant pandas from the panda center were selected, and the two giant pandas were named by Hong Kong citizens. The two giant pandas were finally named ‘Lele’ and ‘Ying Ying’, symbolizing Hong Kong’s ‘prosperity and joy’ and ‘economic prosperity’. Currently, there are 3 giant pandas in Hong Kong Ocean Park: ‘An An’ (34 years old), ‘Lele’ (14 years old), and ‘Ying Ying’.
Source: China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center
