Pambassador @ Edinburgh Zoo
I visited Edinburgh Zoo on December 15, 2011, the last preview day for Edinburgh Zoo members at the panda exhibit.
A great time to see Tian Tian & Yang Guang (or let’s say Sweetie & Sunshine) again…
Yes I say again, since I have met them on November 20 at the Ya’an Bi feng Xia Base of CCRCGP while they were in quarantine waiting to move to Scotland. The pandas arrived in Edinburgh on December 4 with 2 staff members of CCRCGP. One of them is their Chinese keeper Scott Xie Hao, who will stay with the pandas and who will learn more panda keeping skills to Edinburgh Zoo’s Head of Giant Pandas Alison McLean.
Yang Guang spent his day eating bamboo at the inside enclosure due to some extra construction work outside.
Tian Tian was the one stealing the show in her outside yard. She could choose if she wanted to eat inside or go out, but she wanted to enjoy the fresh Scottish air for most of the day.
Scott worked with Tian Tian & Yang Guang when they were cubs at Wolong and was also their keeper in Ya’an Bi Feng Xia for the past year. It is important that he knows that the pandas are enjoying their new homes. For this reason many test are done, to check the pandas health.
We know that giant pandas eat over 25 kilos of bamboo a day. And we also know that pandas are picky eaters. For UK rabies quarantine purposes all the leftovers have to be go in these special containers. Some extra hard work for the staff!
I was warmly welcomed at Edinburgh Zoo by Iain Valentine, Director of Animals Conservation and Research Department, who toured me around the new panda enclosure.
At the end of the day I met Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
The pandas will go on display for the general public from December 16. I hope many visitors will enjoy their panda time at Edinburgh Zoo. Click here for info about the panda viewing tickets.
Go to our Photo Gallery or Flickr page to see more pictures of Tian Tian & Yang Guang @ Edinburgh Zoo.
Grtz Pambassador Jeroen Jacobs
