Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Pandas: Better at Crowd Pleasing Than Breeding

For so many reasons, these cute bears should probably never have survived

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 5, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

(Newser) – Pandas have a lot working against them when it comes to to making babies: a once-yearly ovulation cycle, genetic inbreeding due to a limited captive population, and, apparently, some degree of ineptness at copulation itself. Zoo officials frequently see their excitement crushed by what turn out to be pseudopregnancies, and newborn cubs often don't survive, writes the Washington Post.

The four US zoos with pandas have spent lavishly on them, including $35 million in rental fees to China. That rental deal means that the young Tai Shan, whose birth was a coup for the National Zoo, will soon be headed back to China. But the National Zoo doesn't mind the high price: "We lost money on Apollo, too, you know."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this April 24, 2007 file photo, Tai Shan, the popular giant panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, munches on bamboo in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

National Zoo's panda Mei Xiang sleeps with her feet up in the air on a hot sunny day, Thursday, June 7, 2007, at the National Zoo in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

This Dec. 22, 2005 file photo provided by the National Zoo shows Tai Shan, the giant panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, with his mother Mei Xiang at the zoo in Washington. (AP Photo/ Jessie Cohen, National Zoo)

This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian's National Zoo shows Giant pandas Tian Tian, front, and Mei Xiang spending their morning wrestling. (AP Photo/Smithsonian's National Zoo, Jessie Cohen)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

You can wake up and read a newspaper in the morning, or go to the zoo and watch a baby panda. - Craig Salvas, a NASA employee and bigtime panda fan, explaining why he has snapped thousands of pictures of Tai Shan

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

World's Priciest Tea Made Using Truly Gross Ingredient

Wildlife expert plans to use panda poo to make $36K-per-pound tea

(NEWSER) - If you thought the world's most expensive coffee was disgustingly weird, you haven't seen anything yet: A wildlife expert in China is trying to make the world's priciest tea. The costly ingredient? Panda poop. An Yanshi plans to use the feces he has collected from a panda breeding center in Sichuan province as fertilizer, believing that it will impart a singular aroma. "Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30% of everything they eat," he explains. "That means their excrement is rich in fiber and nutrients." More»

Outcome of Hu's Visit: We Get Pandas Longer

Five more years, to be exact

(NEWSER) - Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, those sweet, cuddly pandas that rank among our national treasures, actually aren't ours—but we get to keep them for a little while longer. At last night's state dinner, Obama announced that China, which has been loaning us the creatures under an agreement that expired last month, will let them remain in the National Zoo for five more years, reports the New York Times . "The Chinese and American people work together and create new opportunities together every single day," said Obama. More»

Meet Atlanta's Baby Giant Panda

One-month-old will be named when he's 100 days

(AP) - About one month old, a new giant panda cub at Zoo Atlanta is still smaller than a house cat, but he is healthy and growing fast, veterinarians said yesterday after a weekly medical exam. The cub, who will be named when he is 100 days old following Chinese tradition, will be placed in public viewing areas when he can walk, usually around 4 months old. He measures just over a foot in length long and weighs 2.2 pounds. More»

China-Japan Relations Strained By ...Dead Panda?

Japan over-anesthesized China's male days after fishing boat incident

(NEWSER) - The death of a panda is worsening already-strained diplomatic relations between China and Japan. China loaned Xing Xing, a 14-year-old male, to a Japanese zoo, and he died last week after being anesthetized so zoo workers could collect his sperm for use in artificial insemination. Chinese officials believe the animal was given too much sedative, and is sending over a panel of experts to investigate, Asia One reports—but some in China are cooking up conspiracy theories, the Telegraph adds. More»

Beloved Panda Killed by Accidental Gassing: China

Quan Quan, mother of 7, inhaled chlorine and carbon monoxide

(NEWSER) - The death of one of China's most beloved panda bears has been blamed on poison gas resulting from a careless cleaning operation at the Jinan Zoo, the LA TImes reports. Quan Quan, a 21-year-old panda who'd given birth to 7 cubs, inhaled carbon monoxide and chlorine, both of which were used when a former air raid shelter was being disinfected. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Pandas: Better at Crowd Pleasing Than Breeding