China Announces World’s First Panda Born from Frozen Sperm
Jul 24th, 2009 Originally Posted by Rhishja Larson
Researchers are excited by the birth of a Giant Panda conceived using frozen sperm at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan province.
The baby’s mother is eleven-year-old You You, and the father is Lolo, whose sperm had reportedly been frozen years ago.
Pandas are commonly conceived using artificial insemination, as they apparently have a naturally low libido. Using frozen sperm had been tried previously, but not successfully until now.
Researchers say the option for using frozen sperm would have a positive effect on the population of Giant Pandas, as it would increase the diversity of the species.
Only approximately 1,600 Giant Pandas are still surviving in the wild.
Good work, You You and Lolo!
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/barkertrax/ / CC BY-ND 2.0