Taipei Zoo to help pandas reproduce

A pair of giant pandas take food in the

Taipei Zoo in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Dec. 23, 2008.

The 4-year-old giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan offered by the

Chinese mainland arrived in Taiwan by air on Dec. 23, 2008. (Chinese media File

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BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- A little over a month after the

pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan arrived in Taiwan, Taipei Zoo officials are

preparing to help them reproduce.

The zoo even has a plan to show them videos of pandas

mating, Chinese media news agency reported.

Ye Jie-sheng, director of the zoo, said he hoped the

pair would produce cubs by next spring.

The zoo has arranged daily training for the pandas to

help them increase their physical strength and mutual intimacy.

Food has been hung at the top of climbing facilities

to urge them to exercise their rear legs, which play an important role in giant

pandas' mating habits, Chinese media said.

Yuan Yuan, the female, has shown some signs of being

on heat, but the sexual life between the two should be better after she has

matured, officials at the zoo said.

Zookeepers have started collecting the pair's

excrement and urine every day to test hormone levels. Tuan Tuan is still very

quiet, Ye said.

Pandas are sexually receptive between March and May.

But most only show an interest in the opposite sex for one or two days.

The gestation period for a female panda varies

between 90 and 160 days, with an average pregnancy lasting 135 days.

The four-year-old bears were first displayed at

Taipei zoo last Monday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, after a month-long

quarantine period expired.

More than 5,000 people visited them within the first

90 minutes of the opening of the zoo last Monday.

A total of 18,899 people flocked to Taipei Zoo to see

the pandas the next day. The zoo limits panda visitors to 22,000 each day.

The pandas, each weighing around 107 kilograms,

arrived at the zoo on December 23, 2008.

The pair came from a nature reserve in the mainland's

southwest Sichuan Province. They were presented as gifts from the mainland and

have become the fascination of thousands of people on the island.

The city government estimates the pandas will attract

about 6 million visitors to the zoo annually.

The mainland announced in May 2005 that it would give

two giant pandas to Taiwan as a gesture of goodwill, but their departure was

delayed for more than three years. Improved cross-Strait ties made their journey

to Taiwan possible.

Giant pandas are among the world's most endangered

animals. There are about 1,590 pandas living wild in China, mostly in Sichuan

and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.

Up until 2007, 239 giant pandas have been bred in

captivity in China's mainland.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

Mainland panda pair arrive in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Dec. 23 (Chinese media) -- A chartered plane carrying two giant pandas from the Chinese mainland touched down at the Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan at 5:02 p.m. Tuesday.

The 4-year-old bears, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, have already finished quarantine examinations at the airport. Full story

Mainland panda pair leave for Taiwan

Staff members carry a caged giant panda to an enclosed truck at a breeding base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 23, 2008. The 4-year-old giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, offered by the Chinese mainland are going to leave here Tuesday for Taiwan. (Chinese media Photo)
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YA'AN, Sichuan, Dec. 23 (Chinese media) -- A pair of giant pandas offered by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan left here Tuesday for the island.

The pandas left Ya'an, Sichuan, at around 8:20 a.m. in an enclosed truck. They would first be transported to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu, about 120 km from Ya'an, and then be flown to Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon. Full story

Taipei zoo gears up to welcome mainland panda pair

A caretaker of the Taipei zoo trains Yuan Yuan, one of the two pandas donated and will be sent by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, at a panda breeding base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province Dec. 21, 2008. The Taiwanese caretakers in two groups have basically learned the breeding skills of pandas since Oct. 2008. (Chinese media Photo)
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TAIPEI, Dec. 18 (Chinese media) -- The Taipei zoo opened its new panda house to the public and media on Thursday, showcasing its full efforts to welcome the giant panda pair presented by the mainland.

The new panda house covers an area of 5,500 square meters with an investment of 300 million New Taiwan dollars (9.1 million U.S. dollars), said Jason Yeh, the zoo director. Full story

Taiwanese breeder You Xueyin feeds giant pandas Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, a couple of pandas the mainland has promised to send to Taiwan, at a panda breeding base in Ya'an City in southeast China's Sichuan Province on Dec. 22, 2008, one day ahead of their scheduled departure. The panda pair will take a chater flight to go to Taiwan on Tuesday if the weather condition is ok. (Chinese media/Chen Xie)
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A pair of giant pandas walk in the Taipei Zoo in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan Province Dec. 23, 2008. The 4-year-old giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan offered by the Chinese mainland arrived in Taiwan by air on Dec. 23, 2008. (Chinese media Photo)
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