Copenhagen Zoo says its female giant panda Mao Sun is not pregnant, ending the seventh attempt to produce panda cubs in the Danish capital.
The zoo announced the result in a press release on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. DR reports that Mao Sun has not become pregnant this year either, and that the zoo will now evaluate the process.
Zoological director Mads Frost Bertelsen said in the statement that the zoo had naturally hoped for a different result. According to Bertelsen, both the process and the timing around the insemination looked promising. He added that uncertainty is part of the work, because panda reproduction is complex.
This year marked the first time the zoo used insemination on Mao Sun. Until now, staff had tried to get the two pandas to reproduce naturally, without any cubs resulting. Xing Er and Mao Sun arrived in Copenhagen from China in 2019.
The zoo stresses that insemination is a well-tested method but not a guaranteed success. Experience from Chinese breeding centers puts the chance of pregnancy from insemination at around 40 percent, according to the press release.
Narrow breeding window
Timing is one of the central difficulties. A female panda comes into heat only once a year, and the window often lasts less than 72 hours. That leaves a very short period in which insemination can be attempted.
The pandas are among the best known animals at the zoo, which is one of the largest zoos in Denmark. The enclosure in Frederiksberg was built for the pair ahead of their arrival from China.
The outcome had been signaled in the weeks before the announcement. In a post on August 14, 2026, Copenhagen Zoo said it was still waiting for a clear answer on whether Mao Sun was pregnant, after monitoring her closely.
On August 17, 2026, local outlet Go’København reported that repeated scans had not shown signs of a fetus. The outlet wrote that expectations of a cub were being lowered as a result.
BT also confirms that Mao Sun is not pregnant. As reported by the outlet, the zoo used ultrasound scans to check whether a fetus had developed.
What happens next
The zoo says it will now review this year’s course of events before deciding on further steps. No new breeding attempt has been announced.
According to Copenhagen Zoo, Mao Sun is doing well. The news was distributed in Denmark by the news agency Ritzau.
