In a last-ditch effort to convince a pair of pandas to take advantage of their brief annual breeding season, scientists at China's Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding turned to good ol' fashioned panda porn.

And it worked like a charm.

According to Xinhua, five-year-old female Colin was nearing the end of her 3-day "estrous cycle," but was refusing to copulate with her mate, Yongyong.

Colin, initially "clueless and unenthusiastic " per the South China Morning Post, finally came around once she was shown an "instructional video" featuring other pandas getting it on.

After "studying" the video with "great interest," Colin came on to Yongyong, and they proceeded to do it like animals. "There was no stopping her" after the film, a research base staffer said.

Shanghaiist points out that porn is illegal in mainland China, "but apparently exceptions can be made for...national treasures."

[photo via China News]