Alex Salmond has raised the issue of the State of the Union during a visit to Edinburgh Zoo.
However, while the First Minister has next year's independence referendum weighing heavily on his mind, he was actually asking zookeepers about the matter of the zoo's Chinese giant pandas and their prospects of having a cub this year. Tian Tian, the UK's only female giant panda, was artificially inseminated in April.
Mr Salmond also got the chance to see the male bear Yang Guang eating bamboo in his enclosure.
The SNP leader said: "All of Scotland has been delighted to welcome Tian Tian and Yang Guang to Edinburgh Zoo and I am thrilled finally to see them in their home."
More than 500,000 visitors have seen the pandas in their first year at the zoo.
Picture: Gordon Terris
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