In 2014, a giant panda named Ai Hin was slated to be the star of the first-ever live broadcast of the birth of panda cubs. Unfortunately, she lost the role after it was discovered that she wasn’t pregnant at all. Not only was her pregnancy fake, but zookeepers suspected Ai Hin may have been faking it to improve the quality of her life. At age 6, she had shown signs of pregnancy, including a change in appetite, moving less, and an increase in progesterone, a key hormone in preparing the uterus for pregnancy. After the first two months, she began acting normally again. Experts say that pandas sometimes display the behaviors associated with early pregnancy after becoming aware that they get preferential treatment. After showing signs of pregnancy, zookeepers move the mothers-to-be into single rooms with air conditioning and around-the-clock care. They also receive more buns, fruit and bamboo. A few clever pandas have figured that out and used it to their advantage. Fortunately for the press, a different panda gave birth to a healthy set of triplets the next month and they became the focus of the broadcast.
