NewsScottish NewsHow are you bearing up, Tian Tian?

How are you bearing up, Tian Tian?

Edinburgh Zoo’s female giant panda isn’t exactly relishing the prospect of the 2015 mating season, if this hilarious snap is anything to go by.
A visitor caught the bear slumped against a wall of her enclosure, tongue lolling, on Sunday morning.
Looking for all the world like she was recovering from a heavy night out, Tian Tian amused visitors with her laid-back antics.
Tian Tian looked on Sunday morning like she'd had a heavy Saturday night.
Tian Tian looked on Sunday morning like she’d had a heavy Saturday night.

 

The bear, which arrived with male Yang Guang from China almost three years ago, could be forgiven if she’s feeling a bit jaded.

Since April this year she has been monitored by experts who hoped she would conceive with Yang Guang.
After they failed to mate naturally, she was artificially inseminated.
Sadly, this was unsuccessful and it was believed that a “late reabsorption of the foetus” had taken place.
It was the third time the zoo had tried unsuccessfully to produce a money-spinning panda cub.
Experts believe the chances are much better in 2015 because Tian Tian will by then be used to her surrounding and the process of artificial insemination.
The zoo faced criticism following the third failed attempt to mate that Tian Tian’s enclosure was not stimulating enough. It was also claimed that the pandas should not be able to see each other before mating.

 

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