Second panda removed with colic

Published on Sunday 29 January 2012 00:00

THE female giant panda at Edinburgh Zoo has been removed from display after developing colic, the same illness that has afflicted her male companion.

Tian Tian was treated by a vet yesterday and is recovering out of public view. Yang Guang, the male panda, was diagnosed with colic earlier this month. He is said to be improving and is expected to be back on display tomorrow.

A spokeswoman for the zoo said: “Tian Tian has been under the weather. One of our vets has been to visit her and suspects she has a bit of colic, similar to Yang Guang but much milder.

“She is being allowed time to relax privately away from public view. Yang Guang is expected to go back on public view on Monday.”

Yang Guang was said to be “brighter and more active” after the irritation caused by colic eased earlier this month. Zoo officials said the panda had already returned to eating large quantities of bamboo.

The male panda started feeling under the weather less than a month after the pair went on display at their new home at Edinburgh Zoo.

Bosses said the bears’ illness was not serious but can cause discomfort.

Colic is a common condition that, in humans, affects around one in five babies of both sexes. Its cause is unknown. The most common symptom of colic is excessive crying in a baby, which otherwise appears to be healthy and well-fed.

The zoo said all visitors with tickets for the panda enclosure have been refunded.

The spokeswoman said: “We understand some visitors will be disappointed. However, the welfare of our giant pandas has to be a priority.

“All visitors with panda tickets today have been fully refunded, welcomed into the zoo for free and invited to rebook for a suitable future date.”

Yang Guang, whose name means Sunshine, and Tian Tian, or Sweetie, arrived in Edinburgh from the Ya’an reserve in Chengdu, China, on 4 December.

They went on show to zoo visitors for the first time on 16 December.

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7

Critical Thinker

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:35 PM

Sounds like they have been hearing too much of Alex Salmond and simply could take no more! Totally understandable!

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6

Willie Boy

Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:39 AM

Despite their illness the two pandas are still more popular than David Mundell.

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5

Rob Royston

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:33 PM

They should know better than buying Chinese junk. I wance got these Chinese spanners.........

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4

Chalmette

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:00 PM

At this rate there'll soon be more Tory MPs in Scotland than pandas!

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3

vistaero

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 09:11 PM

What about giving us the details of how many homeless people in Scotland suffer from colic. I frequently see an elderly homeless man pushing a trolley full of his personal possessions around town, the vermin in Edinburgh Zoo are better treated than the homeless in Scotland, how many homeless people does Nicola Sturgeon visit in Scotland each year, remember she went to meet the Vermin at Edinburgh Airport.

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Charles Linskaill

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 02:38 PM

The poor pandas are not enjoying being showpiece animals, no wonder they have colic, we would have worse than colic if we were put on show like some piece of jewelry in a showcase, send the pandas back home where they truly, and only belong instead of subjecting then to ways they do not and can't understand,, it is so cruel the way we are treating then.

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Ancient Wisdom

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:28 AM

The sooner China recalls these animals back home the better. Zoos may just be OK for saving threatened species, but Edinburgh zoo seems be doing the threatening here. Aliens should be repatriated.

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