Panda couple likely to breed 2nd generation

Taipei (CNS) -- Tuantuan and Yuanyuan were sent to the Taipei Zoo as a gift from the mainland, their names together implying the sincere wish for cross-straits "reunion." The panda couple are very likely to create their first cub in 2012, an official of the zoo told CNS on Wednesday.

Their first mating in February 2011 failed unfortunately, the official attributing that to the fact they were too young to breed. For pandas, the prime fertility age ranges from seven to 13 years old.

Taipei Zoo will carry out special training sessions to encourage the couple to mate and have invited experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, southwest China's Sichuan Province to embrace the new born. Methods of artificial fertilization will also be tried.

Taipei's cold winter this year is expected to be beneficial to their fertility, since they are used to high-elevation climates, according to the zoo.

The couple are at standard weight and demonstrating a good appetite recently, all conditions which will keep them energetic and much more likely to engage in mating, said the official.