China live broadcasts pandas' failed natural mating

A screenshot from the Chinese TV network, iPanda Channel, shows giant pandas Lin Bing (female) and Wu Gang (male) mate during China's first live broadcast of an arranged mating session in the Bifengxia Panda Center in Ya'an city, Sichuan province, on April 3.

BEIJING - Global audiences might be disappointed on Friday after two pandas failed to mate in a matchmaking arranged for the first live broadcasting of the process by a Chinese TV network.

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 Gang acted in a hostile manner towards Lin Bing, 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," said Luo Bo, a breeder from Bifengxia Panda Center, where the filming took place. Bifengxia Panda Center lies in Ya'an city of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The mating attempt was live broadcasted online by China Network Television's iPanda channel and the China Conservation & Research Center 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 (ipanda.cntv.cn) said it will live broadcast other natural mating attempts between other pandas.