My home zoo! This should perhaps have been my first post to write, because I’m from Edinburgh, so these are my ‘home pandas’ as such. Pandas arrived in Edinburgh in 2011 on a 10 year loan from CCRCGP – most of their stay in Edinburgh has already passed, and there are less than two years left unless a new deal is made to keep them on. The above picture is the original outdoor space in the panda enclosure – in 2019 a new enclosure was built, further up the hill in the zoo and in a more secluded area with more space outside. Below you can see the space under construction and Yang Guang’s yard completed. The pandas moved into their new home in the Summer of 2019, so they’ve been there for almost a year now.

Tian Tian

Tian Tian is the female at Edinburgh zoo, she was born on August 24th 2003, so was 8 years old when arriving at Edinburgh Zoo, which is a little older than typical for pandas being sent from China. Tian Tian is already a mother however, having given birth to twins in China, but attempts at breeding here in the UK are yet to be successful. I still always have great visits to see her though! Tian Tian is a little more reserved than Yang Guang, in the old enclosure (pictures above), she would often sit with her back to the window to enjoy her bamboo, and I’ve seen her drag the bamboo from the show den into her off-show area so she could enjoy without an audience. In the old enclosure I can only count on one hand the number of times I saw her outside – this picture below was from the first time I saw her back in 2011.

I haven’t been able to see Tian Tian much in her new outdoor space, I’ve seen her standing in her doorway many times, but she hasn’t ventured too far into the space when I’ve been there – but it has been Winter, I’m sure she’ll be out more in this great weather we’ve been having. The new enclosure is much bigger than the old one, it’s a lot more open so there’s much more space for her to explore, with a big climbing frame and many trees that she could climb. I have seen her inside though – the direction of the sun and the windows isn’t too great, so I’ve not been able to get good photos, but again, it’s not been too long so there’s still plenty of time for me to see her and get some pictures! Tian Tian’s new outdoor enclosure spans over a lot of the hillside, so you can get a great view from both the main panda viewing walkway, but also on the wooden walkway over the zebra plain.

Yang Guang

Yang Guang is the male panda at Edinburgh Zoo, he was born on August 14th 2003, so is the same age as Tian Tian. In contrast to Tian Tian, he seems a little more outgoing, I think I’ve seen him on every visit I’ve been on to Edinburgh Zoo (more than I can count!) – so you can just about guarantee that you will see him. Most of my pictures from his time in the first enclosure are of him sleeping (above), these baskets seemed to be one of his favourite spots, and filled with straw it’s looking maybe comfy for a panda. I saw him outside quite a lot too – he spent a lot of time on his climbing frame as his keepers would put some of his preferred snacks up here.

In 2018 Yang Guang was discovered to have developed testicular tumours, which then had to be removed – which means no natural mating opportunities for him in the future. The Zoo hasn’t made any further announcements on his health, so hopefully he is still a healthy boy^ He certainly looks happy and enjoying his bamboo and his new enclosure.

Alike with the first enclosure, I think I’ve seen Yang Guang every time when I’ve visited the pandas in their new enclosure – he seems to like spending time outside, and makes good use of his new climbing frames along with some of the trees and logs around the enclosure. He’s even had some good fun climbing up trees, which I don’t think was possible in the set up of the first enclosure – I’m desperate to see this in person, but the Zoo have posted some great pictures of him looking adorable among the tree branches on their social media. One of the major differences between the old and new enclosures is that in the outdoor enclosures, there is no glass separating you and the panda now (which was the case in the old enclosure), so it’s easier to see the pandas, and to get clearer pictures, and also means that more people can see the pandas at one time. The indoor viewing areas still have glass windows, however they are larger (floor to ceiling) than in the old enclosure.

Edinburgh Zoo is still closed at the moment, but hopefully when it opens again I will be able to share more posts and new photos of this pair of pandas with you! When it does open again, and if daily animal talks are on, I can highly recommend following them (all the animals, not just the pandas) – a presenter leads the session, and usually a keeper will put some food out in a prime position, while another keeper joins the presenter to give a more detailed insight into the animals and their care. I’ve been to both the panda and tiger talks in recent visits and they were great!