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
Bedroom antics: The pair enjoyed close contact but failed to mate
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.
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
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
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
Read More @ Source Elusive Giant Panda
Giant Pandas
They are indigenous to China and are adored the world over.
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