Zoo on alert that panda ‘may go into labour’ at any minute

Edinburgh Zoo’s panda keepers are now monitoring Tian Tian around the clock.

Experts are not certain at this stage if Tian Tian is indeed pregnant but the latest hormone tests are said to show positive signs and she is now being closely watched for signs of labour such as restless behaviour and bleating.

She could give birth any time in the next two weeks, according to experts.

The birth itself could last only a matter of minutes due to the small size of newborn cubs which weigh approximately 100 grams.

Iain Valentine, director of giant pandas for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: “We have now entered the window of the possible time that Tian Tian could give birth.

“Keepers are monitoring Tian Tian on a 24-hour basis. They are able to log in from their computers and phones at home just to make sure everything is OK with her, and the keeper from China has now arrived to support us. We are ready.

“About 24 hours before she gives birth she will become quite restless, start moving around, and then will sit down, her waters will break and then quite soon after that she will give birth.

“The birth process can be over quite quickly because the cub itself is very small. It could take minutes. It is down to the timing and her being comfortable. The cub is only 100 grams, so she doesn’t have to strain too much to give birth.

“This is the point where things could go wrong. Her body could reabsorb the cub or cubs, or if she does give birth the cub could be stillborn. So this is actually the trickiest time for pandas.

“We will keep our fingers crossed.”

Chinese panda keeper Haiping Hu, from the China Conservation and Research Centre (CCRCGP), arrived in Edinburgh on Saturday and will be on hand to assist if a cub or cubs are born during the next two weeks.

Tian Tian and her male companion Yang Guang arrived at Edinburgh Zoo on December 4 2011 after a 5,000-mile flight from China and became the first giant pandas in the UK for 17 years.

Zoo bosses had hoped Tian Tian and Yang Guang would mate naturally when she came into season but animal experts ruled out putting them together after assessing her behaviour.

She was artificially inseminated in April using semen from Yang Guang and Bao Bao, a “genetically important” panda who died at Berlin Zoo last year.