With the weather looking that little bit nicer in April 2023, I spotted both pandas outside on my visit that month! This was the first time I have seen either of them outside this year and at least with Yang Guang when it gets more into the late Spring/Summer he will spend a lot of time outside, so it’s a great season to visit. It was luck that I went at a time when Tian Tian was coming into season and thus naturally spending time outside as she was a bit restless, and alike in 2019, I even saw her doing some water play which is just amazing to see. I’ve only ever seen her outside in the Spring when she’s in season, so I’m not sure I’ll be lucky enough to see her outside again so this was definitely special.

Continue Reading “Pandas outside at Edinburgh Zoo April 2023”

Spring has started approaching already – this last year of giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo is going so quickly! In March I managed to get two weekend visits in, luckily the weather was pretty good on both days, but I still haven’t seen either panda outside yet this year, so fingers crossed for the warmer months. I have been incredibly lucky with Tian Tian this month (and in January+February too actually) and she has been active and on show on all of my visits whilst Yang Guang has been mostly either eating leaning back against the window or asleep, but I still think I got some super cute shots of him this month:

Continue Reading “Edinburgh Zoo Pandas March 2023”

Luckily I managed to spot Tian Tian up and about on my February afternoon visit as well as Yang Guang – I really got a great day for panda viewing! Tian Tian was wandering around between the on and off show areas, eating, drinking and overall being pretty cute. There were a lot of people at the viewing area until around 3PM when it got very quiet and this was definitely a prime time for seeing Tian Tian as she was happy sitting up on a platform eating facing the window. Alike Yang Guang, she didn’t appear to be too bothered about the windy conditions. My favourite picture is definitely the last one in the post, she was really looking extra adorable at that moment!

In February 2023 I made two trips to Edinburgh Zoo – the first of which was for my members Pandamonium tour and unfortunately Yang Guang was really enjoying sitting eating with his back to the window! It’s a typical position for him, but he was super comfy on this particular day and didn’t get up for the few hours I was there. Luckily I ended up heading back to the zoo a few days later to meet up with a friend who was visiting and we struck gold with an awake Yang Guang eating facing the window this time. This was an afternoon visit and I was there between 1PM and around 3:30PM when the panda viewing closes (Winter hours) and I think this was a good time for visiting. It was very windy on the days of my visits, so Yang Guang was kept inside and he didn’t seem to be too bothered by the gusts from what we could see. I still managed to get some lovely pictures of him enjoying his lunch/afternoon meal – but fingers crossed he’ll be outside on my next visit!

One of my goals for this year is to make sure I make the most of having the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo – the pandas will be returning to China possibly as early as October 2023, so I’m planning to make at least one trip a month to start saying my goodbyes to my favourite pandas. The past weekend was a little windy, but otherwise perfect for a trip to the zoo! Tian Tian was particularly stand out, she was active eating and moving around. She even stopped eating with her back to the glass to turn around and eat facing me. But an absolute highlight was watching her pick up a big stick of bamboo and make her way up to platforms, onto the edge of her big hollow tree stump and head on inside to enjoy her snack away from prying eyes^