[WallCrawler]

Conservation workers have introduced an exercise regime for giant pandas in Chinese zoos because they're too fat to mate.



The overweight pandas have such difficulty with the opposite sex that it's hampering breeding efforts aimed at conserving the endangered species.

"They're fat, their limbs lack strength, and they run out of gas quickly after standing up to have sex," panda expert Tang Chunxiang said at a conference in Hong Kong.

Pandas are being encouraged to lose weight and strengthen their limbs. They need help to get through the mating season, which usually starts in March and last three months, reports Xinhuanet.

More than 140 pandas live in captivity around the world. Chinese experts are teaching survival skills to some captive pandas with the hopes of releasing them into the wild next year.