Panda Fakes Pregnancy In Zoo To Get Perks! Panda Wanted To Get Extra Buns and Bamboo?

Panda fakes pregnancy at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center in China. Ai Hin, a 6-year-old panda reportedly showed signs of pregnancy for two whole months. However, the people working at the center eventually realized that what the panda was actually having was just a "phantom pregnancy," as Xinhua, state news agency, has reported.

Additionally, a live broadcast of the giant panda giving birth was scheduled. Of course, as soon as the officials found out that the panda fakes pregnancy, they called it off.

During the months that the panda fakes pregnancy, Ai Hin got her very own suite. It was purposely loaded with various amenities, such as air conditioning, round-the-clock care, lots of bamboo, fruit baskets, and a serious supply of buns, which apparently was her favorite snack.

According to Xinhua's report, panda fakes pregnancy oftentimes notice that there is a nice accompanying set-up whenever they are exhibiting early signs of pregnancy. Perhaps this is why some of them have opted to carry on with the charade.

Wu Kongju, a panda expert, told Xinhua, "So, some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life." Although "phantom pregnancies" or "pseudo pregnancies" are quite common in giant pandas, they actually happen to other species, too.

Samples of such early signs of pregnancy for pandas are the obvious physical changes, a largely decreased appetite, and a reduction in the panda's activity level.

Still, despite these obvious pregnancy signs, finding out whether or not a panda is truly pregnant or a panda fakes pregnancy is actually not an easy task. In fact, a massive panda fetus is even pretty small. Oftentimes, it is even difficult to find it with the use of an ultrasound scan. Moreover, some panda fakes pregnancy might have actually been pregnant but have miscarried before the estimated delivery date.

Suzanne Hall, a senior research technician at the Institute for Conservation Research at the San Diego Zoo, has commented that majority of panda fakes pregnancy have been observed to be huge pandas that usually do not have a chance to breed.