{"id":718,"date":"2014-08-12T16:34:19","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T15:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=718"},"modified":"2014-08-14T15:41:17","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T14:41:17","slug":"panda-monium-edinburgh-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=718","title":{"rendered":"Panda-monium at Edinburgh Zoo!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a big day for the giant pandas of the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This morning (August 12) Edinburgh Zoo announced the exciting news of the possible pregnancy of their female giant panda, Tian Tian (pictured above).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The nature of panda pregnancies means it is difficult to confirm if the artificial insemination was a success, but new scientific tests show that Tian Tian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s progesterone levels are high and so Edinburgh could see its first baby giant panda by the end of the month.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite has members working at the zoo \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including animal keepers. Gillian McKay, Unite regional officer, commented, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe news of Tian Tian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible pregnancy is wonderful for the pandas and welcome news for all our Unite members who work at Edinburgh Zoo.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf Tian Tian is pregnant then previous concerns for the future of the zoo can be put aside. The birth of Scotland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first giant panda would greatly attract tourists and secure members\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 jobs.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the BBC today reported that \u00e2\u20ac\u0098miracle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 panda triplets have been born in China\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guangzhou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chimelong Safari Park.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The trio are thought to be the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first surviving triplet pandas and the zoo is calling them \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba new wonder of the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Captive pandas are part of a breeding programme to replenish the population that has been pushed to the brink of extinction by poaching and deforestation. Artificial insemination is being used following numerous failed attempts at natural reproduction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are just 1,600 pandas left in the wild, according to the WWF.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Fernando<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here are 10 things you might not know about panda pregnancies and newborns\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 At birth, they weigh in between four and six pounds \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 900 times smaller than the size of its mother. By comparison, an 8 lb human baby would have a 7,200 lb mother<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Measuring the same as a stick of butter, baby pandas are the smallest new born of any non-marsupial mammal<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 They grow really, really slowly<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 A fertilized panda egg \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfloats\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 around the reproductive tract for any length of time before implantation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this makes it impossible to accurately determine a pregnancy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 This also means that the gestation period is also impossible to predict, but it is usually around 95 to 160 days from conception<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. \u00c2\u00a0 Female pandas can only conceive for two to three days each spring<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Some pandas only have one baby every two years, meaning some female pandas might only raise seven young in her lifetime<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. \u00c2\u00a0 More than half of all giant panda litters born in captivity are twins, and, despite the myth, panda mothers can effectively raise both<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Baby pandas cannot move on their own for nearly three months from birth and stay with their mother for another two years before venturing off<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 New born cubs are born completely defenceless \u00e2\u20ac\u201c tiny, hairless, and blind.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Joshua<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The news of Tian Tian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible pregnancy is wonderful for the pandas and welcome news for all our Unite members who work at Edinburgh Zoo.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"wps_subtitle":"'Pregnant' panda great news for Unite zoo workers","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=718"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":763,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}