- Title: Berlin zoo crossing fingers its first ever panda babies are on the way
- Date: 14th August 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 14, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MENG MENG IN ENCLOSURE BERLIN ZOO DIRECTOR ANDREAS KNIERIEM GIVING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (German) BERLIN ZOO DIRECTOR, ANDREAS KNIERIEM, SAYING: "She is not NOT pregnant. We know that she is preparing for a pregnancy, there is movement in her uterus. We did everything right with getting them ready to mate and fertilising her. The male panda had excellent quality sperm, and so everything was prepared and the package was sent on its way. Now we're waiting for it to arrive." VARIOUS OF MENG MENG (SOUNDBITE) (German) BERLIN ZOO DIRECTOR, ANDREAS KNIERIEM, SAYING: "Now comes the very important part: are the next two or three weeks successful, will the embryo keep developing, will we see a heartbeat and will there eventually be a birth? With bears it can happen that the embryos are reabsorbed into the uterus and there is no birth. But we hope not. We're crossing our fingers and hoping everything works out." MENG MENG (SOUNDBITE) (German) ZOOKEEPER, NORBERT ZAHMEL, SAYING: "She isn't very cooperative at the moment when it comes to training. She still goes along with it occasionally but only ever for a very short time. And she is sleeping a lot. I don't know if it's the same with every panda, so we have to be very careful. I think we can't seriously say there are changes in behaviour that would definitively point to a pregnancy." MENG MENG
- Embargoed: 28th August 2019 13:14
- Keywords: panda pandas pregnancy babies Berlin zoo hopes expectations Meng Meng
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA003AS6XCNT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Is she or isn't she pregnant? That's the question on everyone's lips at Berlin Zoo, where staff and visitors are waiting to find out for certain whether female panda Meng Meng is expecting.
Meng Meng and her male companion Jiao Qing mated for the first time in April. Afterwards Meng Meng was also artificially inseminated to increase the chances of fertilisation. Since then, she has undergone a series of ultrasounds - persuaded to sit still with treats of chopped up apple.
The results, combined with elevated levels of the hormone progesterone, have buoyed hopes that the zoo might soon be able to welcome its first ever panda babies.
The ultrasound scans showed a small bulge that could be one or two embryos. And while there is still the possibility of a 'phantom pregnancy' where the embryos are not activated, Zoo Director Andreas Knieriem said he was optimistic.
Meng Meng has become less cooperative in recent weeks, making it difficult for staff to carry out further examinations. This behavioural change could be interpreted as a sign that Meng Meng is pregnant.
Reproduction expert Thomas Hildebrandt from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research has been on hand monitoring Meng Meng, and he put the chances of pregnancy at around 85 percent.
If all goes well, the zoo can expect the cub or cubs to arrive in late August or early September. Experts from China have arrived to assist zoo staff. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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