 Bai Yun is Due Any Day
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Aug. 5, 2003 — A giant panda that was set up in an arranged marriage by Chinese and U.S. zoo officials is pregnant with twins, officials at a California zoo said Monday.
Bai Yun, who is on loan to San Diego Zoo from the People's Republic of China, is expected to deliver her twin cargo later this month, zoo officials said, adding that the pregnancy was detected in an ultrasound test 10 days ago.
"It could be just days, it could be weeks," said Don Lindburg, the team leader of the zoo's Giant Panda Research Station.
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The female giant panda came to San Diego in 1996 with a male called Shi Shi, but the match turned out not to be made in heaven as the pair only managed one baby in six years.
Shi Shi was returned to China last year and replaced in January by 11-year-old Gao Gao as part of a drive to increase the world's dwindling giant panda population.
But ironically, it has emerged that Shi Shi might have belatedly fathered Bai Yun's twins, Lindburg said.
After she and Gao Gao mated three times in March, Bai Yun was artificially inseminated with sperm from Shi Shi, leaving zoo officials guessing as to the father's true identity.
"We will have to rely on a future paternity determination test," Lindburg said.
A panda's average gestation period is 135 days, or around 4.5 months, but predicting the big bear's exact due date will be a tough task, Lindburg said.
Bai Yun's last cub — Hua Mei, a female born on Aug. 21, 1999 — is the only surviving giant panda born in the United States.
One reason giant pandas are among the most endangered species in the world is their lack of interest in sex, which experts have sought to remedy with everything from Viagra to porn videos.
It is believed that there are only about 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild.
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Name: Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Primary Classification: Ursidae (Bears) Location: The Sichuan, Gansu and Shanxi provinces in central China. Habitat: Temperate bamboo forests. Diet: Bamboo (almost exclusively.) Size: Up to 6 ft in length and 250 lbs in weight. Description: Black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs and shoulders. White fur everywhere else. Thick, woolly coat. Broad, round face and flat nose. Large molars. Round, protruding ears. Round body with short, sturdy limbs. Cool Facts: Mothers will eat their cubs' stools to eliminate any evidence of their presence, thereby avoiding potential predators. They need to eat more than 22 lbs of bamboo per day to satisfy their daily requirement of nutrients. Conservation Status: Endangered Major Threat: Habitat loss and poaching. What Can I Do?: Visit the World Wildlife Fund and The Hong Kong Society for Panda Conservation for information on how you can help. |
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