photo by Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
From the National Zoo:
“Earlier this spring, giant panda Qing Bao experienced her first estrus cycle—the very short window when female giant pandas are able to conceive a cub. She and male Bao Li didn’t breed this year, but changes in Qing Bao’s behavior and hormones indicate she’s going through pseudopregnancy—the phenomenon where a female panda behaves as if she is pregnant, even though she isn’t.”