Prepping giant pandas for love
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E-mail CNTV, March 19, 2013
Two seven-year-old giant pandas, Lele and Yingying, have yet to become parents. This year, to boost the couple's chances of having babies, Hong Kong's Ocean Park has set up special training exercises, and put them on gourmet diets.
9 o'clock in the morning. Lele, the male panda, has begun his hind leg strength practice.
Jin Jiabo, Hong Kong, said, "What I'm holding is the target stick to train pandas. Because it's made of bamboo, it's quite light. Within the rounded end are stones, which produce a particular sound when you shake the stick. The reason it's designed this way is because pandas are very sensitive to sound."
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Two seven-year-old giant pandas, Lele and Yingying, have yet to become parents. This year, to boost the couple's chances of having babies, Hong Kong's Ocean Park has set up special training exercises, and put them on gourmet diets. |
Wu Yeekei, Supervisor, HK Ocean Park, said, "At the beginning he was a little reluctant to stand straight for a long period time. But he can to that now. It's very important for males to have strong hind legs, especially when it comes to mating. The longer he can stand on his hind legs, the higher the chances of a successful mating."
In addition to their developed sense of hearing, pandas also have a keen sense of smell. Towels once touched by a panda, will immediately be recognized by other pandas. To nurture their intimacy, Yingying's towel is left in Lele's living area. Something that has clearly not left Lele indifferent.
A panda's scent is extremely important, especially for females. Just by smell alone, they are capable of judging the health conditions of male pandas.
The two pandas eat a total of 60 kilograms of bamboo every day. To make sure they remain healthy, the staff has prepared a buffet of 8 different kinds of bamboo.
Wu Yeekei, Supervisor, HK Ocean Park, said, "This is called Green Common Bamboo, and this is Taiwanese Bamboo. Our panda seems to prefer the leaves of this kind of bamboo, and the stems of this one. In different seasons, the quality of bamboo will change, and pandas' preferences may change as well. That's why we order more varieties of bamboos for them to choose from."
The pregnancy ratio of giant pandas is as low as 30-50 percent, and a female's estrus cycle, or period of sexual receptivity, lasts 3 days at most. To ensure that the pandas are at the top of their form when the time is right, they are given a diversified diet.
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