CHIANG MAI ZOO
Panda embryo found on ultrasound, but no vital signs yet
Supachai Wisetsan
The Nation



CHIANG MAI: - THERE HAS been a further twist in regard to Chiang Mai Zoo's giant panda Lin Hui and her pregnancy. The zoo's team of veterinarians said yesterday the latest ultrasound had found a 9cm x 3cm embryo in her womb - but they had not been able to detect any vital sign or movement.

Chulalongkorn University veterinary reproduction expert Sudson Sirivaidyapong said the news suggested two different scenarios, which would be clarified by another ultrasound test next week.

The first was that the pregnancy was "early", hence the embryo was too small to show vital signs, he said. Panda pregnancies yary from 83-197 days so Lin Hui's 107-day pregnancy may just be early. The average pregnancy for pandas at Atlanta Zoo was 135 days and embryo's vital sign could not be detected till the 125th day, only 10 days ahead of birth.

He said the Chiang Mai Zoo may have been comparing the latest pregnancy to Lin Hui's first cub, which was born after only a 97-day pregnancy.

Pregnancy 'may have failed'

Secondly, the pregnancy may have failed and the embryo stopped growing. That would also explain no vital signs, he said. This could stem from it being an unseasonal pregnancy or an unfertilised embryo. If this were the case, Lin Hui's body would absorb the embryo and discharge it without any harm.

However, veterinarian Boripat Siriaroonrat, who heads the panda-breeding unit at the Zoological Park Organisation's panda-research project, remained positive that the embryo might continue to grow. So, the team will conduct an ultrasound once a week to detect any growth by the embryo and let Lin Hui rest fully and naturally. He said Lin Hui continued to show behaviour that suggested an upcoming birth.


-- The Nation 2014-01-15

I wish the Panda and the Chiang Mai Zoo veterinarian team all the best. Meanwhile, back in Bangkok ?

If this species is really too stupid to breed for itself without a multimillion dollar medical team around the world forcing it along, isn't it really time to stop cheating Darwinism? Yes it looks really cute and people like taking photos of it, but that seems to be the main reason for its forced survival. We humans have let many far more important species die out.

I’m surprised by all the fuss in the photo that it takes 6 people to perform an Ultra-Sound (US) on one Panda? Humans are lucky to get one person in the room which is usually just the specialist performing the US alone.

The guy in the background leaning on the cage appears bored senseless and unconvinced too.

Some people just need to know the real meaning of 'endangered spices' .

There can be so many reasons for that spices to have low reproduction of their off spring.

Human race is one of the reason that forced them to near extiction.

If we are not doing anything now to help protect them, it will be on the extict list in no time.

Can anybody bring back the dinosaurs with multi billion dollars now?

Millions dollar is a small sum to pay if the human race can help.

For those that are not animal friendly, sad to say, they have all those funny negative ideas about endangered animals and equates money with some lowly human beings!