But after numerous attempts at artificial insemination and a visit by Chinese zoologists, it emerged that Yan Yan was rendered infertile by a hormonal disorder.
China does not sell pandas, but offered to rent Germany another female, this time for the exorbitant price of $1 million a year.
The Berlin zoo blanched at the cost and refused.
"Pandas are a particularly valuable species, threatened with extinction, and it is true that the going price for renting one is always on the increase, but no zoo in Europe could afford to pay that amount of money," Kloes said.
At the moment Bao Bao and Yan Yan are living in separate enclosures and talks with China are ongoing to find another female for a lower sum.
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.
