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The time has come.
After years of trying and numerous failures, giant panda Jia Jia finally has a bun in the oven, courtesy of her male counterpart Kai Kai.
This is the first time the stars of the Singapore River Safari have successfully mated in six years, since breeding attempts first started in 2015.
“Jia Jia’s first pregnancy and birth of a cub is a significant milestone for us in the care of this threatened species in Singapore. This is the result of good animal care, assisted reproductive science and sheer perseverance on the part of our staff coupled with valuable advice from the China panda experts. The work continues now with supporting the first-time mother to raise her newborn cub,” said Cheng Wen-Haur, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS)’s Deputy CEO and Chief Life Sciences Officer.
First panda cub
The panda cub was born on August 14, 2021 at the River Safari, WRS announced on Aug. 15 morning.
The cub’s gender is yet to be determined and will be announced later.
Kai Kai. Image from Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Jia Jia and baby. Image from Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
WRS said that they have been working closely with the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda (CCRCGP) after the couple's breeding season officially started in April.
WRS’ animal care team initiated the breeding plan for 2021, emphasising natural mating with assisted reproductive technology as back up if required.
They also observed the pair had shown improvements in their mating techniques the year before so there was a good chance that they could succeed this year.
To make the most of the once-a-year breeding season, the WRS' vets subsequently perform artificial insemination before the end of the receptive period as advised by the CCRCGP experts.
The procedure was carried out by the in-house veterinary team at WRS' Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre, using frozen semen collected from Kai Kai before the mating season.
In July, ultrasound scans showed a thickening of Jia Jia’s cervix and some fluid in the uterine horns. While these are signs of pregnancy, female giant pandas can display pseudopregnancy so they can only confirm the pregnancy via visualisation of a foetus near to term which happened on Aug. 10.
Jia Jia and baby. Image from Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
Cheng said:
"...when our vet picked up, on ultrasound, not only a clear outline of a foetus but one with a strong heartbeat!”
On Aug. 14, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) shared a video of an ultrasound scan, with veterinarians pointing out the moving limbs and beating heart of the baby.
Background
Mating season previously commenced in April earlier this year for Kai Kai and Jia Jia.
To prep both pandas for the mating season, Kai Kai was shown footage of other pandas mating and given extra exercise to strengthen his hind legs.
Meanwhile, Jia Jia had a regular intake of prenatal and pregnancy supplements.
And it seems like these careful baby-making procedures worked after all.
This is the seventh time the pair had attempted to make babies.
Zookeepers had tried artificial insemination methods in the past but to no avail, and they hence decided to adopt a more natural approach in 2020.
Breeding pandas in captivity is particularly challenging as mating season only takes place once a year.
Additionally, female pandas are only in heat for two to four days during this period.
Top photo from WRS.