Sorry folks, Jia Jia, River Safari’s panda, is not with cub after all.
Despite exhibiting signs consistent with pregnancy — such as an increase in hormone leves, eating less bamboo and sleeping more — the birthing window has now passed and it is safe to conclude that the seven year old is not pregnant.
What she was experiencing was pseudopregancy. Yes, that’s a thing in the panda world.
“The past months have provided an invaluable learning experience for us in understanding the complex reproduction and biology of one of the world’s most charismatic species, and we hope for better results next year,” said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, chief Life Sciences officer at WRS.
Female pandas ovulate only once a year, so here’s the game plan for 2016.
To prepare for the next breeding season in April, keepers will get Jia Jia and her male counterpart, Kai Kai, accustomed to physical contact with each other.
Daylight hours and temperature in the Giant Panda Forest will also be adjusted since pandas’ mating instincts are brought on by hormonal changes in response to seasonal variations.
To give both the four seasons experience, they will return to their dens earlier from October to March, and later from April to September.
Jia Jia had undergone artificial insemination in April after an unsuccessful mating attempt with her male counterpart, Kai Kai.
