Love was in the air yesterday for Washington, D.C.’s panda power couple, Tian Tian and Mei Xing.  And by “love,” I mean “the narrow window where properly conducted copulation stands a chance of resulting in the implantation of an embryo and hopefully, months down the line, the live birth of a panda cub.”

Yep, it was that special time, which comes about as frequently as a lunar eclipse, when panda bears can potentially get pregnant.  Of course, since we’re talking about panda bears, which are a failed experiment that only continues exist because we think they’re too darn cute to let them not mate themselves into oblivion, they failed to do so, forcing mankind to take up the dirty work.

Scientists at the National Zoo said they artificially inseminated the giant panda Mei Xiang yesterday after she and her partner, Tian Tian, unsuccessfully tried to mate Tuesday.

Well, at least the National zookeepers can know that the panda’s appreciate our hardworking men and women going elbow deep in giant bear vaginas to keep them from disappearing off the face of the planet.  What’s that?  We can’t?  They aren’t appreciative?

The 170-pound giant-panda cub at the National Zoo grabbed a worker while trying to play, sending her to the hospital with a small leg laceration, zoo officials said Wednesday.

Uh-oh.  Sounds like Tai Shan doesn’t want a baby brother or sister, and he’s taking his ire straight to the scientifically-enhanced source.