The arrival of two giant pandas in Edinburgh on 4 December 2011 created the kind of excitement usually associated with a state visit. The animals’ arrival – to an official welcome from assorted dignitaries, who included the Scottish Secretary and Scotland’s deputy first minister - was televised live and they were given a police escort to the city’s zoo.
The two pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian (the names translate as ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Sweetie’) are arriving in Edinburgh following a complicated series of negotiations which began as the zoo – which has not been clear of controversy in recent years - sought to address a long-term development strategy. The Scotsman newspaper reports how the story of the pandas’ sojourn in Edinburgh began with a throwaway comment about a need for ‘rock star’ animals
Bringing the Giant Pandas to Edinburgh
From that initial suggestion, which was made at a Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) meeting in 2007, the process moved slowly. Various contacts and discussions took place, including high level inputs from Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, and UK prime ministers Gordon Brown and David Cameron, and an agreement, under which two giant pandas would effectively be lent to Edinburgh Zoo for a period of ten years, was eventually finalised in January 2011.
The Zoo’s website is coy about the cost of welcoming and sustaining the pandas, whose tenure it describes as “a world first research project to reintroduce giant pandas into the wild”. It’s reported, however, that in addition to the quarter of a million pounds which it has cost to build a new enclosure, that the RZSS will pay the Chinese government £640,000 per year (The Guardian).
The animals will be the first pandas in a UK zoo for 17 years and it’s hoped that the pandas, both of which have bred successfully in the past (though not with each other) will adapt to their new Scottish quarters and be comfortable enough there to breed. Under the terms of the agreement, however, any cubs produced will belong to China.
Giant Pandas: A Threatened Species
The giant panda is an iconic conservation symbol – so much so that it appears on the logo of the Word Wildlife Fund logo. The species is classified as endangered, largely as a result of habitat loss. In the wild it is restricted to only six areas and it’s estimated that there are only around 1,600 animals remaining in the wild – although the breed is the subject of an extensive conservation and breeding project.
Visiting the Giant Pandas at Edinburgh Zoo
Yang Guang and Tian Tian will officially go on view to the public at the Zoo on 16 December. Although there will be no extra cost to the public for visiting their enclosure, the demand is expected to be so high that visitors must book a viewing slot to ensure that they aren’t disappointed. Each fixed slot will last for twenty minutes. Admission details and booking information are available on the Edinburgh Zoo website.
Sources and Further Information
Arkive website
Edinburgh Zoo website
The Guardian “What price captive pandas?” 2 December 2011
The Scotsman “Revealed: How Scotland landed the giant pandas” 3 December 2011
