EDINBURGH Zoo's pandas Tian Tian and Yuang Guang could be ready to mate next week.

Zoo experts hope Tian Tian will show key signs of being ready to mate next week and further tests are being done to pinpoint when will be best to put the two pandas together.

The weather is thought to have helped prospects for the pair, with the cold akin to their natural habitat in the Chinese mountains.

Zookeepers started daily tests in February to establish when Tian Tian is likely to accept male panda Yang Guang's advances.

Pandas only mate once a year in a period of between 36 hours and four days.