Giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo fail to mate - Daily Mail

By Jenny Hope

After months of making black eyes at each other through the bars of their separate bedrooms, they were ready for love.

Yang Guang's passion had been building ever since he and Tian Tian arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December.

Now the moment had arrived – the annual two-day window when a female giant panda is able to conceive.

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All passion spent: Sweetie enjoys some much-needed shut-eye

All passion spent: Sweetie enjoys some much-needed shut-eye

Bedroom antics: The pair enjoyed close contact but failed to mate

Bedroom antics: The pair enjoyed close contact but failed to mate

How was it for you? Sunshine with a post-date stick of bamboo

How was it for you? Sunshine with a post-date stick of bamboo

After tests proved that Tian Tian (which means Sweetie) had ovulated, keepers opened a tunnel between the enclosures so the two could meet.

On Day One, Tuesday, a series of encounters failed to unite the couple in wedded bliss. Yesterday, however, the signs were more promising. Yang Guang, whose name translates as Sunshine, took the initiative and several times assumed the correct mating position.

Throughout the day they tried with increasing signs of success, but the eight-year-olds still failed to achieve full union. While there is 'definite' attraction between them, say experts, they are young and still at the fumbling stage.

Edinburgh Zoo of pandas Yang Guang and female Tian Tian

Edinburgh Zoo of pandas Yang Guang and female Tian Tian

Behind closed doors: The zoo has turned off the 'pandacam' - which allows the public to watch the animals online - so the pair came become acquainted

Love at first sight? Yang Guang and Tian Tian get a glimpse of each other as zoo bosses hope the pair will mate

Love at first sight? Yang Guang and Tian Tian get a glimpse of each other as zoo bosses hope the pair will mate

Although the pair might be put together for one last attempt this morning, Iain Valentine, director of research and conservation, was resigned to the mating game being over for another year.

He said: 'Each time the pair met we saw a huge amount of eagerness and attraction. He mounted her several times but full mating did not occur. Although both have bred before with other pandas, they are still relatively inexperienced.'

On loan from a Chinese reserve, Sweetie and Sunshine are the first giant pandas in the UK for 17 years.

They are kept in separate enclosures because they are solitary by nature and experts believe that if they live together they can develop a sibling-type relationship which prevents them from breeding.

Shy: The giant pandas arrived in Scotland from Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China, on December 4 last year

Shy: The giant pandas arrived in Scotland from Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China, on December 4 last year

Making a splash: Male panda Yang Guang enjoying the recent spell of warm weather

Female panda Tian Tian enjoying the recent spell of warm weather

Making a splash: The pandas - the only two in the UK - have proved a popular draw since their arrival at the zoo

Hard to get: Female pandas ovulate just once a year, giving a window of 36 hours in which they can get pregnant

Hard to get: Female pandas ovulate just once a year, giving a window of 36 hours in which they can get pregnant

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