Iain Valentine answers panda mating questions
Iain Valentine, Director of Research & Conservation, answered some questions about the upcoming panda mating season at Edinburgh Zoo. It will be the first in Scotland and hopefully the first successful panda mating in the United Kingdom.
How hard is it for pandas to mate?
There is a lot of misperception when it comes to panda mating. Pandas have been around for many millions of years, so I think they are very good at mating to be honest!
Habitat destruction and the resulting declining numbers have meant that it became essential for man to intervene and assist with a captive breeding programme. Science has also recently caught up and in the last ten years our knowledge about giant panda breeding has taken a huge leap forward.
How do you know they are ready?
We’ll be able to tell by a mixture of animal behaviour and scientific testing.
How do you monitor their pheromones?
We have the top endocrinologist in the UK analysing urine samples from Tian Tian on a daily basis. Our veterinary team also carry out vaginal swabbing of Tian Tian to monitor cell changes on a weekly basis. The combined results will offers us a seven to ten day window looking forward, so basically it is like an early warning system for us.
What is the latest on timing?
It is down to our female at the end of the day. It is a waiting game, whilst monitoring and testing hormone levels and behaviour. No hormonal or cell changes have been found yet in Tian Tian, but we do not think it will be too long. When the time is right, our animal and veterinary team will put the pandas in together and let nature take its course.
How important is scent in the panda world?
In the wild pandas use a chemical communication system involving pheromones to locate and choose mates. Scent is also how males will know that female pandas are fertile.
Female pandas are notoriously picky about male pandas. However the signs have been good to date between Tian Tian and Yang Guang and she has had time to get used to the scents and sounds of Yang Guang.
Keep up-to-date via Panda Cam at http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/pandacam.html
