Chinese panda in Washington zoo may be pregnant again

Source: Xinhuanet | 06-08-2007 10:19

WASHINGTON, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Mei Xiang, the female Chinese panda living in Washington's National Zoo, may be pregnant again, the zoo announced Thursday.

Mei Xiang gave birth to Tai Shan, her first cub, nearly two years ago in the zoo.

  National Zoo spokesman John Gibbons said the mother panda's hormone levels spiked Wednesday, two months after she was artificially inseminated twice over two days with sperm from a male panda named Gao Gao.

His sperm had been frozen and flown in first-class from the San Diego Zoo.

But with pandas, there's no such thing as a reliable pregnancy test, said Gibbons.

Whether the insemination worked or not, Mei Xiang's hormone levels were expected to spike at some point.

It could mean she's pregnant -- or experiencing a false pregnancy, Gibbons said.

After about 30 to 50 days, or sometime in July, Mei Xiang's hormone levels will drop and a cub could be born, or the pregnancy will be proven false, he said.

Tai Shan, who will turn two on July 9, is fully weaned from MeiXiang and lives in a separate enclosure along the zoo's new Asia Trail.

He was also the product of artificial insemination, and the sperm was provided by Tian Tian, the male panda who was brought from China to Washington along with Mei Xiang in December, 2000, under a 10-year loan.

The entire family is hugely popular among zoo visitors and residents living around Washington.

Editor:Du Xiaodan