Zookeepers at Berlin's main animal park are hoping to cure a young female panda's habit of walking backwards by introducing her to one of life's most precious pleasures: sex.

They plan to introduce four-year-old Meng Meng to Jiao Qing, a panda three years her senior, in the hope that romance will help her with the frustrations associated with life in captivity that could be behind her habit.

"Meng Meng is in puberty," Berlin Zoo director Andreas Knieriem told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Sunday. "The reverse walk is a protest against things she dislikes, be it the food or the carers."

China lent Meng Meng and Jiao Qing to Germany earlier this year. The two bears are a major attraction at the zoo's $10-million Chinese compound inaugurated by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Xi Jinping in July.

In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Tian Tian is seen exploring her enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Tian Tian eats a bamboo stick In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Yang Guang giant Panda on show in his enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Yang Guang, the male Panda at Edinburgh Zoo, eats bamboo inside his enclosure In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Tian Tian the female panda at Edinburgh zoo sits inside her enclosure In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Yang Guang giant Panda on show in his enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Yang Guang (Sunshine), a giant male panda, chews on bamboo on his ninth birthday, his first on Scottish soil, at Edinburgh Zoo In pictures: The Edinburgh Zoo pandas Edinburgh Zoo Tian Tian the female panda at Edinburgh zoo sits inside her enclosure

Giant pandas in captivity are kept apart except for in the mating season, which occurs between February and May.

"By then, Meng Meng will have reached sexual maturity and could focus all her energy on seducing her partner," Knieriem said.