新冠期间动物园没人来，香港的大熊猫终于自然交配了

If the world wants more pandas to 'get it on', perhaps all we humans need to do is get out the way.

如果世界想让更多的大熊猫“交配”，可能我们人类需要做的就是腾地方。

Far from the prying eyes of the public, two captive giant pandas in a closed Hong Kong zoo are making up for lost time with a whole lotta boning. Well, not a whole lot. Just once, but for this particular couple that's something to celebrate.

没有了公众的窥探，在关闭的香港动物园里，两只圈养大熊猫多次交配来弥补以前失去的时光。其实也不是很多次啦，就一次。但对于这对特别的情侣而言，这已经很值得庆祝了。

In the 10 years Ying Ying and Le Le have known each other, they've never once gotten down and dirty. And yet, this breeding season, amid a global pandemic, something between them seemed to change.

盈盈和乐乐在一起的十年间，从未做过龌龊之事。但在今年疫情期间繁育季节到来时，它们之间好像发生了一点变化。

In late March, after a month or so of unusual privacy, Ying Ying began spending more time in the water. Meanwhile, Le Le began leaving a trail of scents around his habitat, actively searching for his companion's smell all the while. On Monday the two were seen cuddling. Love was clearly in the air.

三月末的时候，过了1个月左右不同以往的私密生活之后，盈盈待在水里的时候更多了。同时乐乐开始在栖息地附近留下气味，也一直在积极寻找着伴侣的气味。周一，这两只熊猫被发现在拥抱。空气中弥漫着爱意。

At 9am, the deed was done and dusted, according to zoo officials.

据动物园的工作人员称，9点时交配完成。

Nevertheless, the zoo made no mention of the coincidental timing, only that the pandas had clearly learned to copulate after years upon years of "trial".

然而动物园没有提及时机巧合的问题，只是说熊猫经过多年“训练”，显然学会了交配。

So is this a sign we should leave pandas alone more if we want them to procreate in future?

所以这是否代表了如果未来想要让熊猫繁育后代的话，应该多让它们单独待着呢？

Despite their reputation, zoologists have long argued pandas don't actually have as low a sex drive in the wild as they show in captivity; they're actually quite frisky beings.

尽管大家对大熊猫有这样的看法，但动物学家一直认为野外大熊猫的性欲不像圈养大熊猫这样低，它们其实是性欲很高的动物。

"It is a phoney issue to say that pandas face a breeding crisis that we have to solve," Jim Harkness, a panda expert and the former China representative for the World Wide Fund for Nature, told The Guardian back in 2006.

大熊猫专家Jim Harkness是世界自然基金会前中国代表，他在2006年对《卫报》说：“说大熊猫面临生育危机，我们需要解决这一问题是不对的。”