Panda Ai Hin faked pregnancy to get more treats
Like most of us, panda Ai Hin enjoys special attention. Unlike most of us, she went to extreme lengths to procure privileges: According to AFP, experts at China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding think Ai Hin (pictured at top) intentionally faked a pregnancy to get more treats.
Wu Kongju, an expert from the research base, explained pregnant pandas get to live in single rooms with air conditioning and around-the-clock care. The researcher added, “They also receive more buns, fruits and bamboo, so some clever pandas have used this to their advantage to improve their quality of life.”
Determining whether a giant panda is pregnant seems to be a fairly complicated task that is based primarily on behaviours and physiological indexes. (No pee-stick test!) In the case of Ai Hin, the researchers were so confident she was expecting a cub that they scheduled a live broadcast of her delivery. They canceled the show after discovering it was just a “phantom pregnancy.”
Either way, I think Ai Hin should get a few extra treats just for being so crafty!
