Giant panda named Tian Tian artificially inseminated in Scottish zoo

A group of international experts from a Scottish zoo said they had performed artificial insemination on a female giant panda. The scientists said they had to turn to the procedure after Tian Tian (Sweetie), the female panda, had showed signs she would not mate with Yang Guang (Sunshine), the male panda.

Officials from the Edinburgh Zoo noted, though, that if a natural mating had occurred, they would have supplemented this mating with artificial insemination.

Under an agreement between the Edinburgh Zoo and the Chinese authorities, the two pandas will spend 10 years in the zoo. The annual fee the Edinburgh Zoo is paying stands at £600,000. The agreement also says any cubs will remain in Edinburgh for two years before being sent back to China.

The number of giant pandas has reduced critically over the years, mainly due to destruction of bamboo forests, their usual habitat, in south west China. At the moment there are about 1,600 pandas living in the wild, and 300 more in zoos.