Beijing, June 18 (IANS) Giant 팬더 in China's research centres have become 'spoilt' because of the extra care taken 의해 experts for these lovable creatures that were once on the verge of extinction.
Experts said 팬더 should be given 'less care' than they are currently used to, as it may prevent them from adapting to life in the wild.
'It is unfair for the 동물 to breed them in captivity like pets,' Zhang Jinyuan, deputy head of the Beijing Zoo, was quoted as saying 의해 the Shanghai Daily.
Most panda cubs begin life in an incubator, far from the natural touch of their mother. These 팬더 do not even have to mate when they get older, as artificial insemination ensures they will reproduce, regardless of their mating habits.
Zhang Hemin, chief of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda, said the ability of 팬더 to mate was being 'eroded' because of the tradition of using artificial insemination to help them reproduce.
In Sichuan province, the Wolong Panda Breeding Research Base is 집 to a number of males and females born in captivity. Approximately a third of the base's female 팬더 and two-thirds of its males have shown no interest in mating.
'During the mating season, they failed to seek out partners on their own,' Zhang Hemin said.
Zhang Jinyuan said if the 팬더 are fed regularly 의해 human keepers, 'they will lose their basic capacity to survive in the wild'.
The Beijing Zoo earlier used to have keepers feed bamboo to pandas. Now there are bamboo plants to allow the 동물 to find their own food. This is aimed at creating a near-wild environment.
The Wolong base would soon release 팬더 in a 'semi-wild' environment to prepare them for the real thing.

I did not write this the original 기사 is here
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