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Breeding Time @ San Diego Zoo

Posted by Jeroen Jacobs | Date: 2012 03 19 | In: San Diego Zoo

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The 2012 panda breeding season has started at the San Diego Zoo. Read this post by Suzanne Hall, a senior research technician for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

We’ve had some wild weather here in Southern California for the past few days. Saturday night, a blustery storm passed through. Blowing winds, downpours of rain, some hail, and snow in the mountain areas left everything sopping wet and cold. But Bai Yun woke up Sunday morning ready to breed. And as always, our trusty male Gao Gao was up to the job.

The exhibits were slick with mud and water, and Bai Yun seemed a little less cooperative than usual. Gao Gao had to convince her to drop her shoulders to the ground to allow him to get the best positioning. Bai Yun weighs 231 pounds (105 kilograms), and Gao Gao is a mere 163 pounds (74 kilos) by comparison, so “convincing” involved a lot of nibbling on her shoulders and pulling at her midsection to get her just right.

Fortunately, he succeeded in his endeavors, and at 8:04 Sunday morning, we had our first copulation of 2012. It’s possible that more of these will follow. Ideally, we would like to get one or two more breedings out of this pair today to make this season a success. Even if the weather remains a challenge, Gao Gao has proven that stormy conditions will not stay him from the swift completion of his appointed duties.

Source: San Diego Zoo
Photo Credit: Rita Petita @ flickr

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