英動物園開大熊貓“愛情隧道”鼓勵交配

The first giant pandas to live in Britain for almost two decades are to have a ‘tunnel of love’ to encourage them to mate and a nursery for their offspring, it has emerged。

Edinburgh Zoo unveiled plans for the £250,000 state-of-the-art enclosure being built for the pair, called Tian Tian and Yang Guang, ahead of their arrival from China later this year。

Among the other features of their new home, the zoo’s former gorilla house, will be a bamboo forest, a small cave suitable for sleeping, climbing frames and paddling pools to cool themselves。

There will also be a fully-fitted kitchen for keepers to prepare food, a hospital for dealing with any emergencies, a birthing area and the nursery。

The public will be able to view the pandas at close quarters from either a split-level, glass-fronted walkway or a number of webcams that will broadcast live footage over the internet。

However, one area where it is hoped the pandas can get some privacy is the tunnel running between their two enclosures. They are notoriously solitary animals and their breeding season lasts only between two and seven days from March to May。

Marty Hall, the zoo’s facilities manager, said: “The tunnel means that they can meet up at controlled times and there are enough areas away from the public where they can go and hide away together。”

Both pandas are being lent to Britain for 10 years, although it is expected that any offspring they produce during that period will be returned to China shortly after birth。

The last pandas in the UK, Ming Ming and Bao Bao, were shipped out in 1994 after failing to mate. Only nine zoos outside China currently house the animals, three of which are in Europe。

Edinburgh Zoo is expecting to double its visitor numbers after their arrival, which followed five years of negotiations at the highest political and diplomatic levels。

Tian Tian, a female, and Yangguang, a male, were both born in 2003 and are currently housed at Wolong Panda Breeding Centre in China’s Sichuan Province, which is home to 250 breeding giant pandas。

However, the animals’ low sex drive means only 20 panda cubs are born in captivity every year around the world. Both Edinburgh’s new pandas have produced offspring previously, but not with each other。來自中國的大熊貓“甜甜”和“陽光”將落戶英國愛丁堡動物園，這是近20年後大熊貓再次在英國安家。據報道，動物園將爲兩隻大熊貓專門開闢“愛情隧道”以鼓勵交配，還爲它們的後代準備了保育室。

愛丁堡動物園公佈了爲大熊貓“甜甜”和“陽光”準備的頂級熊貓館的修建計劃，熊貓館斥資25萬英鎊。這對大熊貓將在下半年抵達動物園。

這對大熊貓的新家的前身是猩猩館，這裏將被改造爲一片竹林，還將搭建一間適合睡覺的小洞穴、供熊貓攀爬的架子、以及用來乘涼的嬉水池。

熊貓館裏還有一間設備齊全的廚房，飼養員在這裏爲熊貓準備食物、以及一間急診室、一間生育室、以及保育室。

公衆可以從錯層式的玻璃走廊或數個網絡攝像機那裏近距離觀看大熊貓。網絡攝像機會在網上實時直播大熊貓視頻。

但大熊貓在兩個熊貓館之間的隧道里可以享有充分的隱私。大熊貓是出了名的獨居動物，每年的繁殖期在三月至五月間，僅持續兩到七天。

動物園設施經理馬蒂•霍爾說：“它們可以在隧道里碰面，但次數有限。那裏有足夠的空間躲開遊客的視線，它們可以一起躲去那裏幽會。”

兩隻熊貓都租借到英國，租期爲10年。據悉，它們在此期間產下的幼仔將在出生後不久送回中國。

在此之前，大熊貓“明明”和“寶寶”在1994年離開了英國，未能交配成功。除中國外，目前全球僅有九家動物園有大熊貓，其中三家在歐洲。

愛丁堡動物園希望在大熊貓安家後，遊客數量能翻番。此前，爲引進大熊貓，中英雙方已進行了五年政治和外交層面的協商。

雌性大熊貓“甜甜”和雄性大熊貓“陽光”都出生於2003年，目前在中國四川臥龍大熊貓繁育中心生活。該中心已繁育出250只大熊貓。

但大熊貓的性慾十分低下，全球每年僅能人工繁育出20只大熊貓幼仔。“甜甜”和“陽光”之前都曾和其它大熊貓交配併產下幼仔。