One last time posting about Yang Guang and Tian Tian living in Edinburgh Zoo – on the 30th of November 2023, the pandas had their last guaranteed on show day to the public (photos included in the November posts^). The zoo had announced that after this date that the pandas would be only visible if they were in the outdoor enclosure, so I made a trip on the 3rd of December 2023 with a friend on the off chance that we might see the pandas outside – lucky we did as not only did we see the pandas outside but on the 4th of December they left Edinburgh to head back to China. I got quite a few pictures, but ending with just the ‘best’ one – sure it’s not amazing quality and it’s through multiple fences, but I ended on a high getting a photo of both Yang Guang and Tian Tian ‘together’ outside which I’ve never seen before so I count myself incredibly lucky to have been there at the right moment. Yang Guang is the closer panda with his back to me and Tian Tian is standing on the rocks looking towards her panda pal of the last 12 years. I’m very hopeful that I’ll be back in China this year and will be able to see both my favourite pandas again 🤍🖤

And of course, I saw plenty of Tian Tian in November as well – she spent more time inside than outside, but she did take a few wanders outside the door (and then came back in within a minute every time haha). She really looked super relaxed and happy for her final month in Scotland. I think she knew what was going on and was definitely showing off for the crowds. I was very pleased to see her come out to see the public on the final day of indoor viewing – the media definitely got some lovely clips of her inside. Overall, I was so happy to have some great last visits with her and I got some great pictures!

November 2023 – the last month that the giant pandas in Edinburgh could be guaranteed to be seen at the zoo*! Of course I visited a couple of times to make sure I was soaking in all the time with my favourite pandas that I could – and here are some of my pictures of Yang Guang. Even though it was chilly, and did try to snow this month, on my visits I would say he spent an equal amount of time inside and outside. With condensation on the inside of the glass it was tricky to get many indoor pictures of him, but I got many good photos of him outside, so definitely no complaints from me there! It was great to see so many people coming to say good bye and spend some last moments in Edinburgh with Yang Guang.

*The pandas were announced to be leaving in December 2023, but the indoor viewing area would be closed to the public to allow staff to make the necessary preparations. The pandas were given free access outside, but it couldn’t be guaranteed that they would go outside, so visitors may/may not have been able to see them until their departure. The pandas left Edinburgh Zoo on the 4th of December 2023, 12 years to the day after arriving.

While I did get to the zoo in September, I only managed 1 visit as I was away for over 2 weeks, and sadly I didn’t get a huge number of great pictures – so onto October! Tian Tian spent my whole visit in her basket at the back wall of her indoor enclosure, so I didn’t get many clear pictures of her; luckily Yang Guang was front and centre and spent a lot of time outside enjoying his bamboo! He picked a great spot to lean against facing the crowd – it was pretty good weather and there was still some sun to be had =)