Zoo Atlanta may have reason to tie up a balloon outside its giant panda exhibit soon.
Lun Lun, 12, may be pregnant. The rare animal has been artificially inseminated, the zoo announced Wednesday.
Female giant pandas are fertile for only two or three days a year. When animal managers determined that Lun Lun was ready, they brought in her traditional mate, Yang Yang, also 12.
But he wasn't up to the task, so the zoo resorted to the medical procedure Sunday.
Giant pandas are an endangered species, and captive births are rare. So a pregnancy would be a cause for celebration at the zoo.
But officials won't know whether to procure a blue or a pink balloon until a birth occurs because giant panda pregnancies are tricky affairs. The animals sometimes exhibit signs of pregnancy without actually being pregnant, and their tiny fetuses are nearly impossible to detect with ultrasound. Newborn cubs are the size of a stick of butter.
"We won't even know if she's pregnant until she delivers," Zoo Atlanta spokeswoman Keisha Hines told the AJC.
In 2006, Lun Lun rocked the zoo world when she delivered a cub. Crowds were wowed by video images of the newborn, named Mei Lan. Then, two years later, Lun Lun delivered another cub, Xi Lan.
Yang Yang fathered both animals. Mei Lan was sent to Chengdu, China, and Xi Lan, now weighing nearly 100 pounds, remains in Atlanta.
The zoo is planning the festivities for Xi Lan's birthday in August.
Giant panda pregnancies take about three to six months, so the zoo may have reason for another celebration soon after.
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