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| Edinburgh panda artificially inseminated with dead male's sperm | Edinburgh panda artificially inseminated with dead male's sperm |
| (17 days later) | |
| Edinburgh zoo's female panda Tian Tian may give birth to a cub conceived with sperm from a male who died last year after the zoo resorted to artificial insemination to increase the chances of a pregnancy. | Edinburgh zoo's female panda Tian Tian may give birth to a cub conceived with sperm from a male who died last year after the zoo resorted to artificial insemination to increase the chances of a pregnancy. |
| The zoo said it had used artificial insemination with Tian Tian early on Sunday after it became clear she and her mate Yang Guang were not going to mate naturally, despite days of coaxing and waiting. | The zoo said it had used artificial insemination with Tian Tian early on Sunday after it became clear she and her mate Yang Guang were not going to mate naturally, despite days of coaxing and waiting. |
| But to maximise the chances for a live birth, the team of Scottish, Chinese and German specialists in Edinburgh used sperm from Yang Guang and thawed sperm from a panda called Bao Bao, who died in Berlin zoo aged 34 last year. | But to maximise the chances for a live birth, the team of Scottish, Chinese and German specialists in Edinburgh used sperm from Yang Guang and thawed sperm from a panda called Bao Bao, who died in Berlin zoo aged 34 last year. |
| He was the last panda on British soil until Edinburgh's pair arrived in December 2011; his frozen sperm has been stored and made available to captive breeding programmes involved in the global panda conservation programme. A DNA test would establish the cub's father. | He was the last panda on British soil until Edinburgh's pair arrived in December 2011; his frozen sperm has been stored and made available to captive breeding programmes involved in the global panda conservation programme. A DNA test would establish the cub's father. |
| Bao Bao, a gift by China to the West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was loaned to London zoo between 1991 and 1993 in an unsuccessful attempt to mate him with its female panda Ming Ming. | Bao Bao, a gift by China to the West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was loaned to London zoo between 1991 and 1993 in an unsuccessful attempt to mate him with its female panda Ming Ming. |
| Iain Valentine, Edinburgh zoo's director of giant pandas, said they needed to give nature a nudge in part because Tian Tian was getting older, and every year without a cub decreased her longer term chances of getting pregnant. Both bears were sedated and are recovering. | Iain Valentine, Edinburgh zoo's director of giant pandas, said they needed to give nature a nudge in part because Tian Tian was getting older, and every year without a cub decreased her longer term chances of getting pregnant. Both bears were sedated and are recovering. |
| "It would have been amazing if the pandas had mated naturally, however artificial insemination is the next best thing for the overall global conservation effort and the individual biology of Tian Tian," Valentine said. | "It would have been amazing if the pandas had mated naturally, however artificial insemination is the next best thing for the overall global conservation effort and the individual biology of Tian Tian," Valentine said. |
| "With every year that goes by where she does not become pregnant, it becomes harder for her to get pregnant naturally. Like IVF, artificial insemination is essentially an opportunity for science to give nature a helping hand. | "With every year that goes by where she does not become pregnant, it becomes harder for her to get pregnant naturally. Like IVF, artificial insemination is essentially an opportunity for science to give nature a helping hand. |
| "In the wild, female pandas will mate with several males within her 36-hour breeding window, giving her the best chance of successful conception. In the zoo this is not possible." | "In the wild, female pandas will mate with several males within her 36-hour breeding window, giving her the best chance of successful conception. In the zoo this is not possible." |
| The zoo is unlikely to know if Tian Tian, who has had cubs in the past, is pregnant until July or August as giant pandas practice delayed implantation. They can also experience pseudo pregnancies. | The zoo is unlikely to know if Tian Tian, who has had cubs in the past, is pregnant until July or August as giant pandas practice delayed implantation. They can also experience pseudo pregnancies. |
| "Both pandas are doing very well and the procedures went very much to plan," Valentine added. "After his procedure Yang Guang was up and moving within 30 minutes and back to normal within two hours; Tian Tian is just taking slightly longer. Sunday morning saw Yang Guang back to his favourite things – eating and relaxing in his outdoor enclosure – and Tian Tian ventured out this morning." | "Both pandas are doing very well and the procedures went very much to plan," Valentine added. "After his procedure Yang Guang was up and moving within 30 minutes and back to normal within two hours; Tian Tian is just taking slightly longer. Sunday morning saw Yang Guang back to his favourite things – eating and relaxing in his outdoor enclosure – and Tian Tian ventured out this morning." |
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