If there鈥檚 going to be another panda born this summer, scientists at the National Zoo have to hope their one shot taken was a success.
Around 9 p.m. Thursday night, they artificially inseminated Mei Xiang. The giant panda has given birth to three panda cubs at the zoo.
Now all scientists can do is wait to see what happens.
鈥淲e know that we won鈥檛 be able to confirm any pregnancy for several months,鈥� said Michael Brown Palsgrove, the curator of the panda exhibit at the zoo. 鈥淭he only successful way to confirm pregnancy in a giant panda is through an ultrasound.鈥�
And because panda cubs are so small when they鈥檙e born, the ultrasound won鈥檛 detect anything until just before Mei Xiang might give birth. There are no signs of pregnancy, even subtle ones 鈥� even their behavior can鈥檛 totally be trusted, because pandas can often exhibit what鈥檚 called “pseudo-pregnancy.” But she does give indications when she鈥檚 ready to try to breed, which is why scientists sprang into action quickly.
鈥淲e know that we have a window of 12 to 24 hours to take action,鈥� said Pierre Comizzoli, who led the team that inseminated Mei Xiang Thursday night. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 the waiting game.鈥�
Part of that is because panda embryos can undergo a 鈥渄elayed implantation,鈥� which means the gestation period for the new cub may start today, tomorrow, or even a couple of months from now. 鈥淭he pregnancy can be between three and five months,鈥� said Comizzoli.
Mei Xiang last gave birth to a panda cub in 2015, after scientists there successfully inseminated her with a sample taken from Tian Tian, who has fathered all three of her cubs. Now they鈥檙e hoping he鈥檒l help spawn number four.
鈥淚f you have a success everybody鈥檚 happy,鈥� said Comizzoli. 鈥淏ut if you don鈥檛 have a success then you have to wait one more year.鈥�
Mei Xiang鈥檚 desire to breed and Tian Tian鈥檚 desire to breed didn鈥檛 match up at the right time to breed naturally. The artificial insemination process is the only shot.
鈥淎t this point we feel like the window where she probably ovulated into optimized conception has passed,鈥� said Brown-Palsgrove. 鈥淪o our breeding season has ended. Now we wait and see.鈥�
