Zoo uses Marvin Gaye’s music to help get pandas in the mood

 

 

Yang Guang the giant panda listening to smooth, sultry Marvin Gaye as mating season looms near

The Edinburgh Zoo has switched Yang Guang’s radio dial to a more relaxing station. The panda has a small window of two days to mate with his girlfriend, Tian Tian.

By Carol Kuruvilla / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

AFP/Getty Images

As mating season draws near, male giant panda Yang Guang has developed a preference for smooth, easy listening radio. But will it help him do the deed?

If music is the food of love, then these giant pandas are a couple of sultry songs away from sexy time.
Female pandas are known for their short-lived libido, so Yang Guang the male Giant Panda has only two days to get busy with his girlfriend Tian Tian. In an effort to get him relaxed enough for sweet loving, keepers at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland have switched the panda’s radio station from Classic FM to the lighter and more sensual Smooth radio.
If Marvin Gaye can help the pandas get it on, their cubs will be the first born in the U.K., the Mirror reports.

Andrew Milligan/AP

Tian Tian is fertile for a very short period of time, so her boyfriend needs to get to work quickly.

Yang Guang has always been sensitive to background music, a zoo spokesperson told the New York Daily News. His old classic station played slow songs, but some tunes were way too up-tempo for the gentle giant. The zoo has tried a couple of different stations on Yang Guang, but the panda is most relaxed when he’s listening to Smooth radio.
“You can often see him sit back, relax and eat his bamboo whilst the radio is on,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
The U.K. based radio station, which describes itself as an “oasis of calm in a crazy FM world,” has accepted its role in the pandas’ procreation. They give Yang Guang an encouraging shoutout every day. Radio host Simon Bates recently played him “I Wanna Lay With You” by the Sherbs, the Mirror reports.

The Edinburgh Zoo is hoping that Yang Guang (L) and his potential lover Tian Tian will produce the U.K.’s first panda cubs.

The couple’s sex therapy also includes special lighting and extra bamboo. The keepers have been training both pandas to stand up on their hind legs to build up strength.
Last year, the two would-be lovers grappled playfully but failed to do the deed.
Although it’s not clear whether the special TLC will get Yang Guang ready for action, the new tunes have settled and soothed the animal. And Tian Tian is squeaking out high-pitched chirps, letting her partner know that mating season isn’t too far away.

Zoo uses Marvin Gaye’s music to help get pandas in the mood

Panda mating season is approaching and Edinburgh Zoo is determined to make sure their male panda, Yang Guang, seals the deal with their female panda, Tian Tian. One strategic move has included switching the background musical stylings from Classic FM to Smooth Radio, particularly Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and other sensual songs, to help set the mood.
While this might seem like a crazy idea, it actually seems to be working.
“We play easy listening radio to Yang Guang in his off-show area,” a spokeswoman for Edinburgh Zoo told Mirror News. “You can often see him sit back, relax and eat his bamboo whilst the radio is on.”
The zoo has also created an intimate warm-up routine for the two pandas consisting of physical exercises, mood lightning and extra bamboo.
If the pandas do in fact mate, their cubs will be the first to be born in the U.K. But mating in captivity is no easy task — only a few zoos outside of China have succeeded in their attempts.
One of the main reasons it’s so hard to breed pandas is because females are only fertile two days a year and are known for being very selective when it comes to mating. 

According to the Huffington Post, the zoo tried to mate Yang Guang and Tian Tian last year and, even though they showed signs of attraction toward each other, they ultimately didn’t mate.
Hopefully Marvin Gaye’s music will help ensure that both the zoo and the pandas get lucky this year.