According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the giant panda named Ai Hin had shown signs of pregnancy at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre.
Six-year-old Ai Hin ate less, moved around far less than usual and showed a surge in hormones - all indicating a pregnancy. A live broadcast of the delivery - the first of its kind - was planned, but the idea was eventually dropped once her “behavior and physiological indexes returned to normal”. Experts declared that the panda underwent a “phantom pregnancy”.
Phantom pregnancies are reported to be common among endangered animals. Many bears and pandas display behavior indicating a pregnancy after noticing the difference in attention, especially food rations, that they receive.
Considering that pregnant pandas in the Centre are given their own air-conditioned rooms with extra food and round-the-clock care and attention, it is perhaps not all that surprising that Ai Hin pretended to be pregnant. An interesting plan - even if it only worked for a short while.
The panda’s natural territory is in the mountainous south-west of China. They have a notoriously low reproductive rate even in the wild, and a significantly lower one in captivity. When combined with the loss of their natural habitat, this condition is slowly driving the bears into extinction. This makes every new birth highly sought after.
