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Baby panda born at Singapore zoo after artificial insemination

2021-08-15T09:04:33.308Z


Parents, Jia Jia and Kai Kai, arrived in Singapore in 2012. They have been loaned for 10 years by China, like the pandas at the B zoo


Pink notebook at Singapore Zoo.

The establishment announced this Sunday the birth of a panda resulting from artificial insemination, a first for this species in the city-state of Southeast Asia.

Jia Jia, the 12-year-old female giant panda, gave birth after being inseminated with the frozen sperm of 13-year-old Kai Kai, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the island's wildlife park operator, said in a statement. .

After several unsuccessful attempts in recent years, zoo keepers, working with Chinese experts, hoped the pandas would mate naturally, but ultimately decided to resort to artificial insemination.

To read also "It is a legendary animal, just like the eagle or the lion": why pandas fascinate us so much

"Jia Jia's first pregnancy and the birth of a baby is an important milestone for us in taking care of this endangered species in Singapore," said Cheng Wen-Haur, deputy general manager of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, quoted in the press release.

“This is the result of good animal care, the science of assisted reproduction and the absolute perseverance of our staff, coupled with the invaluable advice of Chinese panda experts,” he said.

The giant panda, a "vulnerable" species

The pandas, arrived in Singapore in 2012, have been loaned for 10 years by China. This is also the case for the two parents of the Beauval zoo, who welcomed their second and third babies on August 2. Yuan Meng, the first panda born in his enclosures, who will turn 4 on August 4, should fly soon to China, to become a breeder.

Breeding pandas - in captivity or in the wild - is notoriously difficult, experts say, as few animals want to mate or don't know how. Another difficulty is that the conception window is narrow since female pandas are only in heat once a year, for about 24 to 48 hours. The giant panda is considered a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and it is estimated that fewer than 2,000 remain in the wild.

Source: leparis

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