Scientists in China plan to use satellites to track pandas to
learn more about their sexual behaviour. Persuading pandas to
breed can feel like hard work A Chinese-US project will use
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to monitor panda
movements in a reserve in remote Shaanxi province. It is part of
an attempt to understand the panda's poor breeding record.
"Tracking them with advanced technology and observing their sex
activities might help us find ways to avoid their extinction,"
an official said. Wei Fuwen, from the China Academy of Sciences'
Institute of Zoology, said pandas living in the wild were
inaccessible for long periods of time. "Traditional observation
cannot unravel the ecological mystery of the animals," he told
the official Xinhua news agency. China's scientists have come up
with a series of more or less surprising ideas for improving
panda reproduction, including showing them sex education videos.
Despite such efforts, the animal remains endangered. China last
year said there were an