BANGKOK, 29 January 2014 Chiang Mai Zoo officials said on Tuesday Lin Hui the panda did not have a miscarriage and that ultrasound confirmed the fetus was in a good state.
According to Dr. Bariphat Siri-arunrat, head of the panda reproduction research team at Chiang Mai Zoo, an ultrasound scan on Lin Hui has succeeded in locating a complete fetus that looks in good health. The embryo sack also contains amniotic fluid as it should.
The experts said the fetus’s pulse was not detected, but this was not of concern because it was usually detected when nearing delivery. The fetus was found to be 7 centimeters in length.
Dr. Bariphat said Lin Hui was 121 day pregnant as of Tuesday, and that usually pandas gave birth around the 130th day. However, it was difficult to ascertain when Lin Hui would deliver, citing an example of a case in China where a panda was pregnant for 324 days.
Alarm over miscarriage had been raised recently after Lin Hui did not go into labor at the time zoo officials initially expected.
