Panda to Be Named Monday When It Reaches 100-Day Mark

By ALLISON HOFFMAN

By Allison Hoffman

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO

Giving each other space may not work in every relationship, but it’s what keeps the magic alive for the very fertile giant panda pair at the San Diego Zoo.

Since 2003, Bai Yun and her consort, Gao Gao, have produced three cubs, making them one of the most reproductively successful panda couples ever in captivity. Their youngest offspring, a chubby female, will be named Monday when she reaches 100 days old, following Chinese tradition.

For all but two days of the year, Bai Yun (White Cloud) and Gao Gao (Big Big) lead separate lives , much as wild pandas – naturally solitary creatures – would hide from each other in mountain forests.

Pandas are notoriously poor breeders – one reason their species is endangered – and females have only three days a year during which they can conceive. Only about 1,600 giant pandas remain in the wild, and fewer than 180 live in captivity.

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