MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) – Excitement is growing at the Memphis Zoo, where they are waiting to find out if there will be a new addition to the panda exhibit.
Ya Ya, the female panda, has always been a popular attraction. She has, once again, been artificially inseminated. This time, zoo officials are hoping for a successful pregnancy.
"We test her urine and watch for different chemicals to change in the urine, but also at some point we hope to confirm via ultrasound," explained Matt Thompson, Memphis Zoo.
Ya Ya was inseminated several weeks ago, but there needs to be a second hormone spike as a positive indicator that she is pregnant. That occurs anywhere from 60 to 90 days after insemination.
"We're talking end of May, beginning of June, something like that would be the earliest that we would see something. Then, a month and a half after that there would be an actual birth," Thompson said.