Memphis Zoo's Giant Panda Not Pregnant

An ultrasound Tuesday of the Memphis Zoos nine-year-old female giant panda Ya Ya confirms that the panda's pregnancy is not viable.

The procedure was led by Zoo veterinarians Drs. Mike Douglass and Dawn Zimmerman, and assisted by ultrasound specialist Dr. George Flinn and the Zoo's panda keeper staff.

A gestational sac was seen during ultrasounds within the past week. Pandas experience a secondary progesterone spike that corresponds to rapid fetus growth. Ya Ya's spike occurred early last week, but the gestational sac had not displayed growth in an ultrasound over the weekend, and failed to differentiate.

The sac was unable to be found during Tuesday's ultrasound. It is now believed that the sac has either been reabsorbed or expelled.

"This effort took a very substantial amount of work by our staff," said Zoo President and CEO Chuck Brady. "We're extremely saddened by this loss."

Female pandas go into estrus - or their reproductive period - for a 72-hour window once a year. Ya Ya was artificially inseminated on Christmas day of 2008.

This is the second pregnancy loss for YaYa. The first occurred in June of 2007.

Ya Ya and her male counterpart Le Le came to the Zoo in April of 2003.

Giant Panda conservation, including the breeding program and research into bamboo nutrition, is a major component of the Memphis Zoo's annual $1.5 million conservation and research budget.