Changmao the ram and Chunzi the doe sharing an intimate moment

The sensational love between Changmao the ram and Chunzi the doe is going to have a happy ending! According to the Yunnan Wild Animal Park, a Valentine’s Day wedding will be held in the zoo for the cross-species couple.

The romance between the four-footed couple has drawn great interest and blessings from many people.

Changmao the ram and Chunzi the doe were found making love in November and the Yunnan Zoo posted a picture of their mating on a microblogging site. The post soon aroused great interest. While zoologists doubted their true affections, most people supported the idea of keeping them in the same pen. The zoo workers had tried to separate the pair because Changmao has other kids to take care of, but the two ‘lovers’ had been subbornly resisting their efforts.

Changmao became restless and aggressive and even tried to attack his own kids. Their persistence moved the keepers who decided to plan a ‘wedding’ for the unlikely couple.

Commemorative tickets issued for the ‘lovers’

To celebrate the wedding of Changmao and Chunzi, the Yunnan Wild Animal Park has specially printed 500 commemorative tickets, which is an unprecedented practice in the history of the zoo.

The commemorative tickets feature the love story between Changmao and Chunzi, selling RMB66 each, only one yuan higher than an ordinary ticket.

Apart from the commemorative tickets, the zoo has also issued 200 commemorative T-shirts for the couple. The T-shirt has the comic picture of Chaomao and Chunzi on it.

Wedding to “break a secular wall”

During the ceremony on February 14, a ‘wall’ will be created between Changmao and Chunzi, as required by local customs.

Changmao has to break through the wall to see his ‘bride’. Then, they will be led to an arch with the words ‘I Do’ written on it and eat a carrot together to symbolise their union.

The wedding should have been held earlier

The Yunnan Wild Animal Park has the tradition of holding a wedding ceremony for animals in love. But the cross-species love between Changmao and Chunzi was quite a headache to the zoo workers. They had tried to separate the pair, but the two ‘lovers’ had been subbornly resisting their efforts.

Their love gained the support of the general public, and their persistence moved the keepers, who decided to throw a wedding to them.

According to the zoo worker Xiaobai, they hope the cross-species lovers could get more understanding and blessings through the wedding on Valentine’s Day.

However, the zoo has confirmed that it will be impossible for the couple to produce their own offspring because they belong to totally different species.