Breeding halted for Wang Wang and Fu Ni with loan deal set to expire

Adelaide Zoo has stopped their panda breeding program as they negotiate a deal to extend Wang Wang and Fu Ni’s stay or have a new pair replace them.

Adelaide Zoo has stopped their panda breeding program as they negotiate a deal to extend Wang Wang and Fu Ni’s stay or have a new pair replace them.

The zoo announced it would no longer carry out breeding between the pandas as it would impact Fu Ni’s welfare should she become pregnant and need to travel back to China, director Dr Phil Ainsley said.

“You would not want to be moving a pregnant giant panda,” he said.

“For a period of time the cub is very reliant on the mum panda and we need to be very aware of their welfare.”

The current loan for the pair, owned by the Chinese government, ends in November 2024, but Dr Ainsley said he is hoping to extend the deal or negotiate for a new set of pandas.

Adelaide Zoo's Giant Panda Fu Ni. (AAP/Emma Brasier)

“As the director of Adelaide Zoo, we’ll do everything we can to keep giant pandas at the zoo,” Dr Ainlsey said.

“If we have a preference, getting a new pair who are proven breeders would be fantastic.”

But he conceded he did not know which outcome is more likely.

The pandas arrived in Adelaide in 2009 and in 2019, the Chinese government granted Australia a five-year extension to the 10-year contract.

In their 14 years at the zoo, Wang Wang and Fu Ni have had 10 attempts at breeding, but none have led of offspring.

Wang Wang, 18, and Fu Ni, 17, celebrated their birthdays in August and were treated to a bubble bath and picnic at Adelaide Zoo.

Dr Ainsley said due to her age, Fu Ni’s “breeding window is starting to narrow” but it is still possible for her to give birth.

Giant pandas have a breeding window of less than three days a year and the zoo can only tell if Fu Ni has become pregnant just four weeks out from giving birth as before then, the panda has the ability to absorb the foetus, Dr Ainsley said.

Currently Wang Wang and Fu Ni are the only giant pandas in Australia, so it is “very important” for the zoo to keep their drawcard, which attracts more than 450,000 people per year, Dr Ainsley said.

Giant Panda Fu Ni. Picture: Adrian Mann/ZoosSA

The decision whether the panda pair mates has “no bearing” to the decision whether to extend their time in Australia according to Dr Ainsley.

Ultimately, the decision rests with the Chinese government, Dr Ainlsey said, as they would need to be “comfortable with giant pandas remaining in South Australia”.

But signs that the zoo will keep the pandas are promising.

Experts from China travelled to Adelaide in June and delivered a “glowing report” on the health of the pandas, Dr Ainsley said.

Discussions with China will continue following the end of the loan, and the verdict on whether Adelaide Zoo will keep giant pandas will come either at the end of November or the start of December next year.

“All South Australians need to get behind us on this one,” Dr Ainlsey said.

Originally published as Breeding halted for Wang Wang and Fu Ni with loan deal set to expire