China Kicks Off High-Tech Project To Spy On Pandas' Sex Lives

FLORA AND FAUNA

A lack of interest in sex is one of the main reasons why the furry animal is endangered, and measures ranging from specially designed Viagra to panda porn movies have done little to change that.

Beijing (AFP) Sep 26, 2005
Chinese and American scientists will use high technology in an attempt to unveil the darkest secrets of the giant panda's sex life, state media said Monday.

Giant pandas are unusually discreet animals, forcing researchers to resort to Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors to find out what's really happening behind the bamboo leaves, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"Giant pandas are inaccessible for long periods of time and traditional observation cannot unravel the ecological mystery of the animals," Wei Fuwen, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua.

"Tracking them with advanced technologies and observing their sex activities might help us find ways to avoid their extinction," Wei said.

The Chinese academy has linked up with the Zoological Society of San Diego for the three-year, 660,000-dollar "Peeping Tom" project at the Foping Natural Reserve in northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Sadly, the curious scientists may find out that not much is going on even when the pandas believe they are alone and unobserved.

A lack of interest in sex is one of the main reasons why the furry animal is endangered, and measures ranging from specially designed Viagra to panda porn movies have done little to change that.

As of the end of 2004 China had raised 163 giant pandas in captivity, while almost 1,600 of the rare animals are believed to be living in the wild in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

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FLORA AND FAUNA

Japan Releases Endangered Storks Into The Wild

Tokyo (AFP) Sep 24, 2005
Five artificially bred white storks flew into open skies from a Japanese park Saturday as part of a half-century effort to protect and return the endangered species to the wild, officials said.

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