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Tian Tian (, meaning "Sweetie") is a female
Tian Tian (, meaning "Sweetie") is a female panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...
born on 24 August 2003 at the Beijing Zoo
Beijing Zoo is a zoological park in Xizhimen, Xicheng District, Beijing. Founded in 1906 during the late Qing dynasty, it is the oldest zoo in China and oldest public park in northern China. The zoo is also a center of zoological research that ...
from mother Niu Niu and father Ying Ying, and a former resident at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo (), formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The zoo is positioned on the south-facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, giving extensive vie ...
, Scotland.
She arrived in Edinburgh in December 2011 together with a male panda named Yáng Guāng (, meaning "sunshine"). They were the only two pandas in the United Kingdom. They are on loan from the Bifengxia Breeding Centre in China at a cost of £640,000 per year.
The initial ten-year loan was extended by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
; in September 2023 it was announced that the pair would return to China in December of that year.
The pandas arrived in China on December 4, 2023.
Pregnancies
When in China Tian Tian, successfully gave birth to twins on 7 August 2009. The male cub was named Shen Wei and the female Bo Si. After her arrival atEdinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo (), formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The zoo is positioned on the south-facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, giving extensive vie ...
she had an unsuccessful mating season
Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and ch ...
in 2012.
In April 2013 Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a learned society and registered charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie in 1909. In 1913, Edinburgh Town Council bought a large plot of land on Corstorphine ...
performed on her the first artificial insemination procedure on a giant panda in the UK. They later confirm that Tian Tian had become pregnant, but most likely reabsorbed the foetus late term.
On 12 August 2014 Iain Valentine, Director of Giant Pandas for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a learned society and registered charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie in 1909. In 1913, Edinburgh Town Council bought a large plot of land on Corstorphine ...
, announced that a second implantation had taken place, she was pregnant and birth was expected around the end of August 2014. On 22 September 2014 Edinburgh Zoo announced that she was no longer pregnant.
On 26 March 2015 it was announced that a third artificial insemination had taken place but by August 2015 it was believed she had lost the cub.
In October 2015 scientists said they were exploring cloning
Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...
the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo.
On 24 August 2017 it was revealed that Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo (), formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The zoo is positioned on the south-facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, giving extensive vie ...
had believed she was pregnant again after being artificially inseminated for the fifth time in 2016. The expected date for a birth was as early as 25 August 2017 although the Zoo said was hard to predict and the panda breeding season can last until late September. On 11 September 2017, the Zoo said that Tian Tian was not pregnant and her hormone levels had returned to normal.
In the media
The coverage of Tian Tian's pregnancies atEdinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo (), formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The zoo is positioned on the south-facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, giving extensive vie ...
became so widespread that BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
current affairs programme '' PM'' broadcast satirical daily "Possible Panda Pregnancy Update .
See also
*List of giant pandas
This is a partial list of giant pandas, both alive and deceased. The giant panda is a conservation-reliant species, conservation-reliant vulnerable species. Wild population estimates of the bear vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 ...
* List of individual bears
The following is a list of individual bears ( other than individual giant pandas) which garnered national or worldwide attention:
Actors
* Bart the Bear, a male Alaskan Kodiak bear, played the leading role in the 1988 wilderness drama, '' The Be ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Tian Individual giant pandas Edinburgh Zoo 2003 animal births China–United Kingdom relations Individual animals in Scotland