Giant panda birthday to be marked ... Do Good!
One of the UK's two pandas is celebrating his ninth birthday, his first on British soil.
Yang Guang will tuck into a special cake and discover bamboo-themed presents as he celebrates his special day at Edinburgh Zoo.
His birthday comes just ten days before that of the zoo's other panda, the female Tian Tian, who turns nine on August 24.
The pair have become a popular attraction since they arrived in Scotland from Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China, on December 4 last year, going on show to visitors for the first time on December 16.
Keepers have prepared a special cake in the shape of a panda's head for Yang Guang to enjoy. They will also spread presents throughout his enclosure in the form of different-sized boxes made from some of his favourite varieties of bamboo poles. The presents have been smeared with honey and conceal chunks of apple and carrot for him to discover.
Darren McGarry, head of animals at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "It's all been quite exciting here for us planning the first of two very special birthdays, and first up to receive the birthday treatment is Yang Guang.
"We all know how much Yang Guang loves bamboo, usually munching his way through around 60kg of the green stuff a day, so we thought what better than building big boxes made of it for his presents.
"It will be fantastic to see his reaction to his birthday gifts, as we've never given him anything like these presents before, it might bamboozle him slightly at first but, I'm sure it won't be too long before he realises it's a tasty treat.
"He'll need to figure out how to get into them, as most nine-year-old boys are a little bit more boisterous than girls, he'll probably throw them around and generally smash the boxes to bits and pieces, and then eat it all up."
Giant pandas Tian Tian (meaning Sweetie) and Yang Guang (Sunshine) are the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years and Edinburgh Zoo will be their home for the next 10 years.
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