We confirmed today that Giant Panda at Ueno Zoo were mating.
[Video] Audio is available.
A staff member is poking Shin Shin's body with a long stick to observe her reaction. Ri Ri can be seen through the cage on the right.
The two of them living together. The top one is Ri Ri, and the bottom one is Shin Shin.
This evening, March 6, 2021, a fenced-in meeting was held between the male Giant Panda "Ri Ri" and the female giant panda "Shin Shin" at Ueno Zoo. The two pandas frequently called out to each other, and the female raised her tail, showing strong signs of estrus. In an attempt to induce natural mating, the two were placed in the same enclosure from 4:35 PM, but mating did not occur, and they were separated at 4:40 PM.
Subsequently, when they were placed together again at 5:06 PM, mating behavior was observed for 65 seconds starting at 5:08 PM. At 5:11 PM, they were taken out of their enclosure and moved to separate enclosures.
Ueno Zoo will continue to carefully observe the condition of the two animals, and if it is determined that mating is highly likely, they will attempt to have them live together again. After the signs of estrus subside, they will continue with normal care and monitoring for the possibility of pregnancy.
March 7, 2021 Update: A second mating behavior was observed.
On the evening of March 6th, Shin Shin showed signs of accepting the male, so at 10:38 PM, they were allowed to be together for a third time. A second mating attempt was observed from 10:51 PM for 102 seconds. At 10:54 PM, they were taken out of their enclosure and moved to separate enclosures.
We had planned to arrange a meeting and cohabitation on March 7th, but due to the condition of the two dogs, we decided to postpone it for today.
[Video] Second mating behavior (pre- and post-mating behavior observed by a monitor)
March 9, 2021 Update: We have determined that the estrus cycle is subsiding.
We continued to observe the two dogs, and after comprehensively examining Shinshin's hormone levels, the condition of her genitals, and her behavior, we determined that her estrus cycle for this season was coming to an end.
Therefore, we have decided to return to our normal breeding and management system from March 9th and carefully monitor the animals' health.
(March 6, 2021) (March 7, 2021: Added information about the second mating behavior) (March 9, 2021: Added information regarding the determination of when estrus has ended)
