Is Korea's giant panda Ai Bao pregnant again? Fans seem to think so, but Everland guarded.

Could Korea welcome another celebrity panda cub this summer? Panda fans are already abuzz with talk that female giant panda Ai Bao may be pregnant for a third time.

Ai Bao — the mother of the first Korea-born panda, Fu Bao, and her younger sisters, the twins Rui Bao and Hui Bao — will move into the indoor enclosure starting next Tuesday, according to an announcement from zoo operator Everland last Friday. 

Everland's announcement fueled speculation that Ai Bao may be pregnant again.

“Ai Bao has entered a period that requires careful observation and stable management,” Everland said. “She will remain indoors while receiving intensive care from zookeepers and veterinarians.”

Kang Cheol-won, a veteran zookeeper well-known for his care of the three panda cubs born in Korea, offered further details.

“Ai Bao has been experiencing significant fluctuations in her condition due to hormonal changes,” Kang said in a YouTube video uploaded Monday.

“We plan to move her indoors and focus on helping her recover from her condition. The duration of her stay indoors may change depending on her condition.”

Song Young-gwan, another zookeeper, wrote on the zoo's online forum that "Ai Bao is currently under intensive care for her health and stability."

“With top priority given to Ai Bao’s well-being, zookeepers and veterinarians are continuing to monitor her closely,” Song wrote.

However, the zoo remained cautious about the possibility that Ai Bao was pregnant. 

“We cannot confirm whether Ai Bao is pregnant,” Everland told the JoongAng Ilbo.

Ai Bao and male panda Le Bao arrived in Korea in March 2016 as part of a joint panda research project between Seoul and Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping gifted the pair as a symbol of bilateral friendship.

Ai Bao later gave birth to three daughters: Fu Bao in July 2020 and twin sisters Rui Bao and Hui Bao in July 2023.

Visitors who recently saw Ai Bao wrote online that she was not eating as well as before, appeared sleepier and spent more time lying down — behavior some fans interpret as potential signs of pregnancy.

Speculation has also intensified because Rui Bao and Hui Bao became independent from their mother in August last year. Female pandas typically do not go into heat while raising cubs.

The twins were born after their older sister, Fu Bao, became independent from Ai Bao in September 2022.

Giant pandas are fertile only once a year, usually for just one to three days between March and April. If mating is successful during that period, pandas generally give birth after a roughly four-month pregnancy, with cubs typically born in July or August.

If Ai Bao is expecting a third time, a new baby panda could arrive this summer.

Still, some experts caution that the current signs alone are not enough to confirm a pregnancy.

Because panda cubs are born extremely underdeveloped, a mother panda’s appearance changes very little during pregnancy. False pregnancies are also common among giant pandas, meaning pregnancies are often unconfirmed until shortly before birth.

Meanwhile, the departure of twin sisters Rui Bao and Hui Bao to China is also drawing closer.

China has a repatriation rule requiring pandas born outside China to be returned to China before they turn 4. Their older sister, Fu Bao, left for the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan Province in April 2024.

Rui Bao and Hui Bao are also expected to move to China sometime early next year.

BY CHOI MO-RAN [[email protected]]