Sept. 27, 2005 — A female giant panda on loan from Mexico was sent home Monday after nearly two years of unsuccessfully trying to produce offspring with the only panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo.

Shuan Shuan, 18, was placed in a cage with a sign saying "Adios" as she was sent to Narita International Airport for an evening flight back to Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, Ueno officials said.

Zoo officials had made efforts, including three attempts at artificial insemination, to help Shuan Shuan produce a cub with Ling Ling, 20.

"In contrast to Ling Ling who is shy, Shuan Shuan is a tomboy and a typically Latin girl," Ueno Zoo director Teruyuki Komiya said. "It is unfortunate that we have not succeeded in breeding," he said.

"But I feel relieved that we can send her back to Mexico safely, as giant pandas are precious in the world," he added, calling Shuan Shuan a "symbol of friendship between Japan and Mexico."

Shuan Shuan was brought here in December 2003 on the mating mission.

Before her arrival, Ling Ling had been sent to Mexico to provide sperm for attempts to artificially inseminate three female pandas there. His mission proved unsuccessful.

The last successful breeding of a panda at Ueno Zoo was in 1988.

Ling Ling was donated to Ueno by Beijing Zoo in 1992. He has been the only giant panda at Ueno Zoo since Tong Tong, a female, died in 2000.

Deforestation, development and poaching have contributed to the demise of the giant pandas, but their lack of interest in sex has not helped matters, with experts trying everything from Viagra to pornographic videos.

Only about 1,000 of the endangered animals are estimated to live in the wild, all of them in China, and more than 140 live in captivity around the world.

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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 Pandas International, Smithsonian's National Zoo and The Hong Kong Society for Panda Conservation for information on how you can help.

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