Two pandas finally mate after 10 years, during zoo closure amid coronavirus
Since the park's shutdown, staff began to notice certain behaviors that would indicate the two pandas were entering the breeding season.
By ZACHARY KEYSERThe spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Berlin(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Ocean Park Zoo in Hong Kong has been trying to get two giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, to mate for over 10 years. However, it seems that all it took was a countrywide shutdown, a global pandemic and some privacy for it to finally happen.As Hong Kong residents have been confined to their homes and limit themselves to small gatherings amid coronavirus concerns much like the rest of the world, Ocean Park has been closed since January. During this time and "through trial and learning," the two giant pandas finally got the privacy to make their union official, according to the facility."Since Ying Ying and Le Le’s arrival in Hong Kong in 2007 and attempts at natural mating since 2010, they unfortunately have yet to succeed until this year, after years of trial and learning. The successful natural mating process today is extremely exciting for all of us, as the chance of pregnancy via natural mating is higher than by artificial insemination,” Michael Boos, executive director of zoological operations and conservation at Ocean Park, said in a press release.“If successful, signs of pregnancy, including hormonal level fluctuations and behavioral changes, may be observed as early as late June, though there is always a chance that Ying Ying could experience a pseudo-pregnancy. We hope to bear wonderful pregnancy news to Hongkongers this year and make further contributions to the conservation of this vulnerable species.”Since the park's shutdown, staff began to notice certain behaviors that would indicate the two pandas were entering the breeding season."Since late March, Ying Ying began spending more time playing in the water, while Le Le has been leaving scent markings around his habitat and searching the area for Ying Ying’s scent. Such behaviors are consistent with those common during breeding season, which occurs once every year between March and May," the release read.In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reclassified the species as “vulnerable” rather than “endangered”, citing growing numbers in the wild due to decades of protection efforts – meaning the mating efforts are wonderful news for the conservation of the species.As of the end of 2015, China had 1,864 giant pandas in the wild, up from about 1,100 in 2000, with 422 in captivity, according to the government.The wild giant panda population faced a lack of genetic diversity as it was broken up into 33 isolated groups, some of which had fewer than 10 individuals, according to Zhang Hemin of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.Of those 18 sub-populations with fewer than 10 pandas, all faced “a high risk of collapse,” he added.Only when the wild population could grow steadily without the addition of captive-bred pandas could the species be called less endangered, Zhang said.Reuters contributed to this report.
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