Chinese vets give sex lessons to panda Hua Mei

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 18, 2004

Chinese vets give sex lessons to panda Hua Mei

US-born panda Hua Mei is getting some lessons in panda relations at her new home in China.

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"Huamei" will go out of quarantine

US-born panda Hua Mei is getting some lessons in panda relations at her new home in China.

Chinese veterinarians have begun showing the 4-year-old panda videos featuring pandas mating in order to prepare her for possible suitors.

Xinhua reports that officials at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center hope Hua Mei will mate and become pregnant by the end of the month.

Hua Mei has been assigned four prospective male partners. Veterinarians say it will be up to Hua Mei to choose her own "Mr. Right."

Pandas mate

"To meet the four mates is the most important thing for Hua Mei after the quarantine period and we hope she can get pregnant by the end of March -- but first of all, she should have some sexual education," said Wei Rongping, assistant director of China's famed Wolong Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center.

The female panda in captivity is normally sexually mature at three due to better conditions but their bodies are not ready to have babies, so researchers usually arrange mating when they are four years old. Pandas in captivity at Wolong are usually in heat from March to May, said Wei.

"So, Hua Mei is pretty much a virgin right now and being in captivity since she was born, her parents never taught her the knowledge in this field," said Wei.

According to the plan, Hua Mei will not only be shown sex education videos featuring a couple of giant pandas mating, but will also be brought to the site to watch her peers mating, said Wei.

Hua Mei was sent back to Wolong, southwest China's Sichuan Province last month. The loan agreement that brought her parents to United States' San Diego Zoo requires that any offspring be sent to China after their third birthday.

After a 30-day quarantine, this US-born giant panda left her temporary home in a mountain valley in Bailonggou, one kilometer from the center, and joined 210 other pandas in the center, including 140 in the wild and 70 in captivity.

This four-and-half-year-old creature seemed to be excited and curious about the new environment and kept looking around after entering her new home, which consists of a 120-sq-m hillside field encircled by an iron fence, and a 16-sq-m log cabin, installed with heating facilities.

"Our vets are carrying out routine checks on her every day, to check her breath, droppings, appetite and mood," said Wei. "The results show Hua Mei is healthy and in good spirits. She gained 10 more kilograms after coming back to China and weighs 104 kilograms now."

Research results show that giant pandas have a relatively low fertility rate, which is tremendously impaired in captivity. For long periods, more than 60 percent of adult male giant pandas in protection areas or zoos lack any sexual desire. Only 10 percent of them are capable of natural mating. Only 30 percent of female giant pandas become pregnant and give birth.

Many male pandas need training, as they seem indifferent to the overtures of the females. This has resulted in declining sexual activity among giant panda couples. Successful breeding is mostly achieved through artificial insemination.

Initial results show the sex education lessons are working. Some pandas in Wolong completed their first natural mating after receiving a long period of sex education.

Source: China Daily/agencies

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