Panda birth watch begins next week

Dr. Rebecca Snyder, curator of mammals at the zoo, said additional staff was hired six weeks ago in anticipation of keeping a watchful eye on Lun Lun 24/7.

The panda baby sitters will monitor the maybe-mom for signs of labor, including restlessness and, as with humans, if her water breaks.

Lun Lun, 13, was artificially inseminated June 13 after unsuccessfully mating with her mate Yang Yang.

Giant panda gestation ranges from 83 to 197 days.

But, while the animal management team is hopeful that Lun Lun’s signals will be cause for cigars and balloons, their optimism is cautious.

“The pseudo-pregnancy is pretty convincing,” Snyder said. “We’ve been in this situation before. We didn’t know she was pregnant with her first cub until she was born, and with [Lun Lun’s] last birth in 2008, we did see the cub on the ultrasound a couple of days before he was born. We’ve been doing ultrasound on her now, but haven’t seen anything telling yet.”

Lun Lun and Yang Yang have two previous offspring, female Mei Lan, 4, who lives in China, and male Xi Lan, 2, who resides at Zoo Atlanta. In their birth years, they were the only two giant panda cubs born in the U.S.

Panda pregnancies are notoriously difficult to confirm because of their biology, which causes delayed implantation.

But, Snyder said, Lun Lun’s previous pregnancies are a good sign that she is healthy and can carry a pregnancy to term.

“Like they say with people,” Snyder said, “once you’ve had one, it’s easier to have another.”

The Panda Cam will remain online at www.zooatlanta.org.