THE promise of the pitter-patter of tiny panda paws has the world on edge and eagerly waiting a new arrival.
Tian Tian, or “Sweetie” in Chinese, Britain’s only female giant panda is due to give birth at any moment at Edinburgh Zoo.
The excitement generated by the baby announcement, revealed through a Freedom of Information request, has turned even the most hard-hearted into animal lovers, with the news dominating Twitter feeds and headlines the world over.
The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Belfast Telegraph and the Seattle Times among others covered the news.
The Chicago Tribune headline, Hopes Soar in Scotland: Edinburgh zoo panda may be pregnant, was shared by Sri Lanka News and China Daily.
Twitter users revelled in the excitement and the site itself featured it on their own Twitter page @TwitterMoments, saying “There may be a new panda cub in the world very soon thanks to Tian Tian!”
The FoI request revealed an email exchange between The Scottish Government and Edinburgh Zoo in July, about the progress of the panda pair.
Iain Valentine, director of giant pandas at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), wrote on July 25: “TT doing real well. As things are at the moment, she seems on track but I have shifted the possible birth date to around 25th August. Will be able to be a bit more precise in a week’s time."
Edinburgh Zoo rent the panda duo Tian Tian and the male Yang Guang from the Chinese Government and they have proved a major tourist attraction ever since their arrival in 2011, with the zoo even setting up its own panda-cam for those who are unable to make the trip in person.
But On their arrival to their new home the two quickly showed that they were not “meant to be” and would not mate naturally. The pregnancy was conceived through artificial insemination, although the procedure was not successful until its fifth try in March this year.
Tian Tian had previously mothered twin baby pandas in China. Chinese experts have flown in on “panda watch” to assist with the remainder of her pregnancy.
Any cubs born in Scotland’s capital will live at Edinburgh Zoo for two years before returning to China. According to animal experts this timescale lines up with how long pandas live with their mothers before leaving them in the wild.
But the promise of at least two years on Scottish soil has tourism boards excited, with estimates that the birth could generate upwards of £30 million and generate a new buzz around Edinburgh.
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