Taipei Zoo collected Tuan Tuan's sperm for AI
The Taipei Zoo collected sperm from its male giant panda Wednesday for future artificial insemination after its female panda went into heat but failed to excite her mate earlier this week, zoo officials said.
The zoo collected sperm from Tuan Tuan, one of the two pandas given by China in 2008 to signify improved relations with Taiwan, as it did not seem to be interested in mating with his female counterpart, Yuan Yuan, said the zoo’s director, Jason Yeh.
Yuan Yuan, who showed obvious signs of estrus a few days earlier, lost her appetite and kept walking around or trying to cool down by soaking in her pool, Yeh said.
Tuan Tuan, however, did not appear as passionate as Yuan Yuan, and the 6.5-year-old panda, which has no experience of mating, was interested only in feeding and sleeping, Yeh added.
Due to the lukewarm interaction between the pandas, the zoo collected Tuan Tuan’s sperm for the first time in case the animals fail to mate during the female’s estrus, Yeh went on.
The zoo’s panda house has been closed until Feb. 12 to offer some peace and quiet that will hopefully encourage the animals to copulate.
Source: Focus Taiwan
