Chinese expert advocates 'panda porn'
A Chinese expert on giant pandas has recommended playing recordings of pandas mating to Chiang Mai Zoo's Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui in the hope that it will encourage them to follow suit.
Liv He was among 100 specialists from 10 countries attending yesterday's opening of a conference on panda breeding, in Chiang Mai.
The conference aims to share techniques for preserving and breeding giant pandas. One of the issues to be tackled is the ongoing effort to ensure that Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui breed, after the first attempt failed earlier this year.
Liv, a researcher at Beijing Zoo, said China had developed a technique to encourage mating that involved playing recordings of a pair of mating pandas.
The male - Chuang Chuang - is six years old and weighs 155 kilograms, while five-year-old Lin Hui weighs 118kg. Both pandas are healthy.
Lertrat Rattawanitch, of the Zoological Organisation of Thailand, said there were about 150 to 160 giant pandas being raised in captivity around the world
"This is a golden year as there are as many as 25 new-born pandas around the world," he said, adding that satellite photos showed the number of giant pandas in the wild in China had increased from 1,000 to 1,500.
The breeding period for giant pandas lasts only about 60 hours a year.
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