Zhen Zhen mated in Ya'an Bi Feng Xia
Zhen Zhen, San Diego Zoo’s fourth returned panda, is now 5 1/2 years old, and the latest news from China indicates that she is doing very well! The third cub of Bai Yun and Gao Gao was the first female to come into estrous this year at the CCRCGP Ya’an Bi Feng Xia Base. She bred with two males, Lu Lu and Yuan Yuan. Zhen Zhen and her big sister, Su Lin, moved to China in September 2010 to be a part of the giant panda breeding program.
While we can’t tell at this point whether or not these breeding encounters were successful (i.e., will result in a pregnancy), all reports suggest that her behavior was perfect. We are hopeful that she’ll have cubs later this summer, and we’ll keep you posted! Congratulations to Zhen Zhen!
Post by Megan Owen on www.sandiegozoo.org
Photo credit: Meghan Martin
