Zoos Try Cross-Country Panda Breeding

Biologists at the National Zoo in Washington are attempting to impregnate the zoo’s female panda with sperm from a California donor.

Sperm from Gao Gao, a male panda at the San Diego Zoo, was flown first class across the country to attempt to impregnate Mei Xiang, a mother of one at the National Zoo, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

JoGayle Howard, a theriogenologist specializing in the reproductive biology of endangered species, said zoo staff members have been analyzing Mei Xiang’s hormone levels to determine the proper time for insemination.

The sperm donor, Gao Gao, was placed near the top of a list of global panda breeding recommendations at a 2006 giant panda breeding conference in Thailand. He was chosen to breed with Mei Xiang because the genetic lines of the two pandas do not cross.