Ocean Park Giant Panda Adventure Temporarily Closed for Giant Panda Mating Season

Ocean Park’s Giant Panda Adventure, home to female panda Ying Ying and male panda Le Le, will be temporarily closed to the public from today until further notice to provide an environment conducive to panda mating, as the annual breeding season begins.
 
Since late March, Ying Ying has been more active, playing in water more often and having a decreased appetite. She is also found leaving scent marks in her habitat. With these behavioural signs and changes in Ying Ying’s hormonal levels, the Park’s veterinary team confirms that Ying Ying has entered into the oestrous cycle.
 
At the same time, Le Le is seen marking his scent around his habitat and searching for Ying Ying’s olfactory cues. 
 
These observations are typical of giant pandas entering the mating season, which generally occurs once a year between March and May. The giant pandas’ carers have been monitoring their physical conditions closely in hopes of facilitating their opportunity for natural mating.
 
Ying Ying and Le Le, both 15 years old, had their first successful natural mating attempt last year after ten years of trying. 
 
The Park will update the public on the latest developments of Ying Ying and Le Le as information becomes available.
 
Classified as a “vulnerable” species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List, there were 1,864 pandas in the wild according to the Chinese Forestry Administration Panda Census conducted in 2011–2014^[1].