Monday, June 21, 2004

Panda porn pays off



"A female panda named Hua Mei is pregnant after watching hours of videos showing other pandas mating.

"It's the latest use of so-called 'panda porn' by authorities in China.

"In February, Hua Mei was transferred from her birthplace at San Diego Zoo to a reserve in China. But keepers were afraid she hadn't learned enough about mating to do so with her new male friends.

"So Hua Mei, aged 4, was sent to the Wolong Panda Protection Centre in south-western China for several months of sex education lessons, which included watching hours of panda pornography.

"They hoped the sex videos might put her in a lustful mood for one of many 'blind dates' she would encounter in their efforts to get her pregnant - and the videos paid off.

"Chinese newspaper Beijing Chenbao reports Hua Mei is now pregnant."