Edinburgh Zoo pandas swap pens ahead of mating bid

Edinburgh Zoo has taken new measures to prepare giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang for this year’s breeding season by allowing them to swap enclosures for a short time.

This lets the animals scent mark each others’ accommodation ahead of being brought together.

Female pandas only have two days a year in which they can get pregnant. It is thought the pair could be ready to mate by the end of this month. The Zoo’s most famous residents failed to mate during last year’s breeding season but keepers believe they are now much more settled. Female pandas have less than than two-days a year when they can get pregnant.

Signs are encouraging as the female, Tian Tian, left her scent all round the male’s outdoor pen.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang have both bred before, although not with each other.