Panda handlers pray for Fu Ni pregnancy

Panda handlers at Adelaide Zoo are eager to learn whether Giant Panda Fu Ni has fallen pregnant after she was artificially inseminated with mate Wang Wang's sperm.

In this hand out photo supplied by Adelaide Zoo Saturday, Nov 28, 2009, Three-year-old female giant panda Funi is seen in the quarantine section of a purpose built 25-acre (10-hectare) natural enclosure at the Adelaide Zoo. (AP Photo/Brian Charlton) Source: Adelaide Zoo

The procedure comes after the panda pair failed to mate on their own despite a visit from a reproductive specialist from China. 

"We saw some great behaviours with them ... however we did not get a natural mating from the pair so we proceeded with artificial insemination," Senior panda keeper Lucy Catt told ABC radio.

Fu Ni will be treated as if she is pregnant because of the high-quality samples produced by Wang Wang but keepers say they won't know for sure until two weeks before she is due to give birth. 

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