Pit Schultz on Wed, 9 May 2001 23:04:01 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> panda porn


cinematic zoo politics

>>
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian may be the most closely watched pandas in the
world, with 20 cameras trained on them 24 hours a day. [Military] Motion
sensors strategically placed throughout the panda house, inside and out,
can detect their every move. Microphones pick up every bleat or chirp. All
the super surveillance is to help National Zoo researchers track the
pandas' behavior and gain a better understanding of how they interact,
eat, breed and handle stress. The ultimate goal is to determine how these
endangered creatures can move from captivity back to the wild. The
National Zoo will share its findings with the zoos in Atlanta and San
Diego as well as with Chinese panda researchers. 
<<

(watch at night, realplayer needed)
http://animal.discovery.com/cams/panda.ram

>> 
The Chinese regard breeding pandas as a point of national pride. They
report that nearly half are "getting in the mood" after seeing the [panda
bear porn] films. Managers in Berlin zoo have already announced plans to
copy the Chinese tactic after five years of fruitless attempts to get Yan
Yan, a panda on loan from China, interested in mating with Bao Bao, the
resident bear. She was supposed to be returned to China earlier this year,
but Berlin's mayor Eberhard Diepgen personally arranged for her to stay
longer in an effort to produce an offspring. But Yan Yan has only another
couple of months in Germany - and getting her and Bao Bao excited with
videos of perky pandas performing in the wild may be the last chance for
success. Berlin zoologist Dr Ragnar Rilke said the idea of showing the
videos in the zoo would certainly do no harm. However, other
panda-watchers say that Yan Yan is just too old to arouse Bao Bao's
interest, even with the help of the videos. They say panda porn is not the
answer and want the Chinese to send him a younger partner to stimulate his
interest.
<<


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