| They're cute and cuddly but sadly they
| |
| | pandas' aversion to sex.
|
| can't get it up! Yes, Virginia, even
| |
| | "Barely a quarter of adult pandas in
|
| pandas suffer from impotence and nothing
| |
| | captivity are breeding, and the few that
|
| it seems can help these furry animals
| |
| | do are not contributing to the survival
|
| mate. Not even Viagra!
| |
| | of their wild relatives," added BBC News
|
| This was reported by Chinese officials
| |
| | environment correspondent Alex Kirby.
|
| who said that the creature's innate
| |
| | In the 1990s, authorities experimented
|
| modesty may prove to be its undoing.
| |
| | with Chinese medicine to boost the
|
| Authorities are alarmed that the shy
| |
| | pandas' dwindling sex drive. Zhang Hemin,
|
| pandas may soon be extinct unless they
| |
| | director of the Wolong Nature Reserve in
|
| have sex soon.
| |
| | the central province of Sichuan, said the
|
| For years, scientists have struggled to
| |
| | herbal medicine worked but it also made
|
| boost the dwindling panda population that
| |
| | the males hot-tempered that the
|
| now numbers less than a thousand.
| |
| | experiment had to be discontinued.
|
| Poaching and loss of habitat have greatly
| |
| | Scientists then turned to the
|
| reduced the number of pandas worldwide.
| |
| | anti-impotence drug Viagra, hoping it
|
| The few that inhabit China face
| |
| | would have the same effect in pandas.
|
| extinction due to their celibate nature.
| |
| | Pandas normally mate for about 30 seconds
|
| "Pandas, which have relatively low
| |
| | and Viagra could reportedly extend that
|
| fertility rates even in the wild, lose
| |
| | to 20 minutes.
|
| virtually all interest in sex once they
| |
| | Unfortunately, that didn't work either.
|
| are in captivity," according to BBC News.
| |
| | Sixteen-year-old male panda Zhuang Zhuang
|
| Researchers are at a loss to explain this
| |
| | (Chinese for "Strong Strong") took the
|
| strange behavior. Some say captivity
| |
| | drug but nothing happened. Wang Pengyan,
|
| prevents them from indulging in elaborate
| |
| | deputy director of the reserve, said he
|
| mating rituals. Others believe they are
| |
| | had no intention of giving Viagra to
|
| not interested in mating with partners
| |
| | other pandas although others believe
|
| chosen for them. Still, others say all
| |
| | Zhuang Zhuang wasn't a good candidate.
|
| they want is a little privacy and the
| |
| | "You can't say Viagra has no results on
|
| attention they're getting from the public
| |
| | pandas. We used the wrong panda. That
|
| is not good for them.
| |
| | panda basically has no capability," said
|
| "Who would want to mate in front of an
| |
| | Guo Feng, a scientific researcher at
|
| audience?" asked Sally Nicholson of the
| |
| | Wolong.
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| World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on captive
| |
| |
|
