Zoo hopes '06 will be the year of the panda 

Zoo hopes '06 will be the year of the panda

panda curator at Zoo Atlanta. was on a research trip in China last year when she told her foreign colleagues the good news: She was about to get married.
They were horrified. "Not in the year of the chicken! referring to one of the 12 animal signs on their astrological calendar. "That's a terrible year to get married! the zoo's 8-year-old female panda. was artifically inseminated in March. But officials say they won't know for weeks if she's carrying a cub. There is virtually no way to definitively call a panda pregnancy this far in advance. (See article at far right.) Word should come in late July or early August.
If Lun Lun has a successful pregnancy. her baby would be one of the few American-born pandas: San Diego Zoo has birthed two pandas; Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington had a cub last year. via artificial insemination. The endocrinologist who worked on that procedure assisted on Lun Lun's earlier this year.
After two unsuccessful mating seasons. Snyder is starting to feel some pressure. "One of my predictions was that Yang Yang [Zoo Atlanta's male panda] would end up to be a good breeder. You always like it when your studies turn out like you expect them to. So far he's not living up to that research."
A newborn would boost annual attendance. and possibly draw sponsorships. zoo President and CEO Dennis Kelly said earlier this year.
On a personal level. Snyder is not sure what she'll do if Lun Lun fails to deliver a cub in the coming months. and the pandas return to China when Zoo Atlanta's contract expires in 2009. She says she could transfer to another zoo with pandas or teach fulltime.
"I knew that. having a baby panda was going to be a measure of our success. even though the information we're providing by studying their social development was important as well." says former Zoo Atlanta chief Terry Maple. now president and CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo in Florida. "You have to look at the big picture. And people don't look at that. They just say it costs so much money."
As the zoo's vice president of animal programs. is well aware of the pandas' challenge. "It's a tough learning curve when you only have one day a year to do it. referring to the small fertility window ' about 24 hours ' that pandas have annually to conceive.
Snyder says her fingers are crossed. "It's a big deal and we all feel a lot of pressure to make this happen. "if only the pandas would. It's a tense time."





Pregnancy