Photo by poyee_lam0321.

Last Monday, one of our readers made us all insanely jealous by getting the chance to visit Wolong’s Bifengxia Base in Ya’an, Sichuan and catch up with our old friend Butterstick. But we did notice was that Tai Shan had, uh, put on a couple of pounds. No worries — Tai is apparently on a new regimen to ensure that he can sire some sticks of butter himself:

According to China Today, most giant pandas held in captivity don’t have the strength to hold their bodies up for mating. So keepers at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda have been putting Tai Shan through some exercises to enhance his physique.

“Tai Shan is able to stand with its hind legs as long as three minutes now, which is the minimum time for panda’s mating,” Tai Shan’s keeper Yang Haidi told China Today.

Three minutes? What a stud.