The visiting Chinese giant pandas Xing Er and Mao Sun are seen at Copenhagen Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 10, 2020. (Photo by Anders Kongshaug/Xinhua)
To avoid natural aggression towards each other, the two pandas live very separate lives during the year. After detecting that Mao Sun had been "on heat" since Sunday, the Zoo officials decided it was time to put the pandas together because it was likely they would be more agreeable to one another.
COPENHAGEN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The staff and visitors to Copenhagen Zoo have pooled their resources in recent days to encourage Xing Er, a male Chinese giant panda, to mate with his lady, Mao Sun, for the third time in as many years. Expectations are running high for the birth of a panda baby on Danish soil.
Despite the intermittent rain showers, hordes of panda enthusiasts gathered at the zoo's panda enclosure early last Sunday to witness the moment.
"I am as excited as pretty much the rest of the Copenhagen Zoo to see whether it will succeed or not," visitor Magnus Lauesgaard told Xinhua.
"We are aware that seeing giant pandas being intimate or close to each other is extremely rare. So, it's very special for me and my family too."
To avoid natural aggression towards each other, the two pandas live very separate lives during the year.
After detecting that Mao Sun had been "on heat" since Sunday, the Zoo officials decided it was time to put the pandas together because it was likely they would be more agreeable to one another.
The visiting Chinese giant pandas Xing Er and Mao Sun are seen at Copenhagen Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark, April 10, 2020. (Photo by Anders Kongshaug/Xinhua)
Furthermore, the zoo performed a special "trick" this year to stimulate Xing Er's sense of competition by sprinkling the urine of other male pandas borrowed from other European countries around the enclosure.
"We saw a lack of interest in Xing Er last year, so now we tried to create a false sense of competition. We sprayed the urine and we have actually seen that the male is more active and more aggressive toward the female, which is probably a good thing," explained Mads Bertelsen, head of animal operations at Copenhagen Zoo.
The audience was not disappointed by the couple's initial interaction, as they performed a classic panda courting ritual, standing up and facing each other, playfully chasing each other and tumbling around.
Xing Er even bit Mao Sun's neck provocatively, but the anticipated consummation of the mating procedure did not take place.
After a few hours, there appeared to be disagreement between the two pandas, causing concern among the onlookers.
"Well, right now it's not that good looking because she's not so up to him. But we don't know, and I really hope," said visitor Elisabeth Casanova.
Giant panda Mao Er rests on a tree trunk at Copenhagen Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Lin Jing)
Because female Pandas ovulate only once a year and for a maximum of two days, there was still a slim chance that the pair will mate on Monday.
"If it still doesn't work then we'll basically go back to the drawing board, go back to our Chinese collaborators and talk about what we might change for next year because the panda only has one shot at it every year," said Bertelsen.
Xing Er and Mao Sun have been a veritable cultural phenomenon in Denmark since they were moved to the zoo's panda house in April 2019. ■
