Pandas shun mating in China's first live broadcast

BEIJING: Two endangered pandas failed to mate in a matchmaking arranged for the first live broadcasting of the process by a Chinese TV network for the global audiences.

The panda breeding process is mostly a mysterious process for the public, but the live broadcast, which lasted just over 50 minutes, showed panda breeders introduce female giant panda Lin Bing to male Wu Gang.

But Wu acted in a hostile manner towards Lin, which had displayed the normal signs of being in heat.

"Male pandas can be picky about their mates, and when they don't like the partner, they will show symptoms similar to sexual apathy," Luo Bo, a breeder from Bifengxia Panda Centre told state-run Xinhua news agency.

The filming took place at the Centre that lies in Ya'an city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The mating attempt was broadcast live online by China Network Television's iPanda channel and the China Conservation & Research Centre for Giant Pandas.

Pandas' mating season runs from March to May, when giant pandas compete for female attention.

But captive pandas often struggle with insemination, getting pregnant and taking care of their cubs.

The iPanda channel said it will live broadcast other natural mating attempts between other pandas, the Xinhua report said.