Call for giant pandas to stay in Adelaide after latest pregnancy fail

Adelaide Zoo’s giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni have again failed to become parents and are now set to be shipped back to China unless the Federal Government steps in.

Adelaide Zoo’s giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni have again failed to become parents and are now set to be shipped back to China unless the Federal Government steps in.

The Zoo today said that based on hormone tests and behavioural observations, the window has now passed during which time Adelaide Zoo’s Giant Panda Fu Ni would have given birth.

In the past fortnight, Fu Ni’s urinary progesterone level — a hormone associated with pregnancy — declined which meant she was either preparing to give birth to a cub or nearing the end of a pseudo pregnancy.

This hormonal change coincided with behaviour that suggested she may have experienced a pseudo pregnancy. Pandas, like several other species, can undergo pseudo pregnancies, where hormonal changes and behaviour are identical to those of a true pregnancy, making it very difficult to work out if a giant panda is actually pregnant or not.

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Zoos SA Senior Veterinarian Ian Smith said the team had been treating Fu Ni as though she was pregnant since September when two artificial inseminations were performed, but were never able to confirm she was pregnant.

Adelaide Zoo's giant panda Fu Ni.

“It’s quite possible Fu Ni was at one stage pregnant but the window has now passed during which time she would have given birth,” he said.

“Apart from a birth, the only definitive way to confirm pregnancy in pandas is through a comprehensive ultrasound examination where a foetus can be seen in the last few weeks of a pregnancy.

“Their complicated reproductive biology presents a number of challenges for panda breeding around the world and means we’ll never likely know whether Fu Ni has been pregnant in the past.”

Zoos SA Chief Executive Elaine Bensted said Zoos SA’s focus now was extending the existing loan agreement when it ends in November 2019.

“We’d be thrilled to see Australia’s involvement in giant panda conservation extended and for Adelaide Zoo to continue to be home to the Australasia’s only giant pandas,” she said.

“Ultimately, the decision rests with the Australian Government as they provide the funding that goes to giant panda conservation in China. We’re talking with the government and we hope to have an answer in the near future.”