Pandas sent back to China because sparks didn’t fly and no babies were made

Kirsten Robertson

Published January 3, 2023 8:01pm Updated January 4, 2023 7:52am

Tian Tian (left) ‘wouldn’t have swiped right’ for Yang Guang (right), experts believe (Picture: PA)

A pair of pandas will be sent back to China after failing to produce any babies.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian have lived at Edinburgh Zoo home since 2011.

There were hopes they could produce panda cubs galore and boost the endangered species’ numbers.

But sparks didn’t fly, and experts have since admitted Tian Tian ‘wouldn’t have swiped right’ if a panda version of Tinder existed.

Both animals will be returned to China later this year.

Chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, David Field, told the Telegraph: ‘Baby pandas are just beautiful. They are exquisite, they are endearing, they are glorious.

‘They are one of the most fantastic ambassadors for people falling back in love with nature.

‘Sometimes animals just don’t get on. Genetically they were apparently an extremely good match but behaviourally, if it was Tinder, perhaps Tian Tian wouldn’t have swiped right if she had the choice.

Female giant panda Tian Tian in her enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo on Friday, Aug. 9 2013. The female giant panda at Edinburgh Zoo is showing encouraging signs she may be pregnant, according to keepers. The zoo says nesting behavior and changes in hormone levels suggest Tian Tian could be expecting a cub ? or experiencing a phantom pregnancy, not uncommon in pandas. The zoo artificially inseminated Tian Tian, or Sweetie, after she was reluctant to mate with male companion Yang Guang, or Sunshine. The two animals arrived from China in 2011, and are the only pandas in Britain. (AP Photo / Danny Lawson/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE — Female giant panda Tian Tian in her enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo (Picture: AP)

‘They are hugely emblematic, they are iconic for conservation and they make people smile with sheer abandonment.’

Tian Tian and Yang Guang were leased from the Chinese government for a 10-year period at a reported annual cost of £600,000.

Both pandas were born in August 2003 and turned 19 years old in 2022.

Panda reproduction is infamously rare due to their complex physiology and the fact that ovulation only occurs once a year.

Undated handout photo issued by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland of Yang Guang a Giant panda who is to stay in UK with Tian Tian for another two years after China gave permission to extend their stay. Issue date: Tuesday December 7, 2021. PA Photo. See PA story. Photo credit should read: RZSS/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — Yang Guang will also be sent back to China (Picture: PA)

Tian Tian had given birth to twins in her home country but her first natural mating season in Edinburgh, in 2012, was unsuccessful.

A team of experts then artificially inseminated Tian Tian, which means ‘Sweetie’, eight times with sperm flown over from a panda in China – but these attempts also failed.

Matters were further complicated in 2018 when Yang Guang had to have both testicles removed following the discovery of tumours, ruling out any unexpected luck from their natural interest in each other.

While Giant Pandas may be waving farewell to Edinburgh Zoo – there are plenty other wild animals worth seeing.

There are two pairs of red pandas at the facility – Bruce and Ginger, and Kitty and Kevyn.

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