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| Giant panda Tian Tian placed on birth watch at Edinburgh Zoo | Giant panda Tian Tian placed on birth watch at Edinburgh Zoo |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The UK's only female giant panda has been placed on 24-hour surveillance after the latest hormone tests indicate she could be pregnant. | The UK's only female giant panda has been placed on 24-hour surveillance after the latest hormone tests indicate she could be pregnant. |
| Edinburgh Zoo's panda keepers are now monitoring Tian Tian around the clock. | Edinburgh Zoo's panda keepers are now monitoring Tian Tian around the clock. |
| Experts are not certain at this stage if Tian Tian (left) is pregnant, but the latest hormone tests are said to show positive signs and she is 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. | She could give birth any time in the next two weeks, according to experts. |
| Iain Valentine, director of animals, education and conservation 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 to make sure everything is OK with her, and the keeper from China has 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. | "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 is very small. 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 for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), arrived in Edinburgh on Saturday 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 4 December 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. | 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. | 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. |
| Tony Bradford, visitor experience coordinator at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "Nothing is 100% yet, but it is still getting very exciting. | Tony Bradford, visitor experience coordinator at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "Nothing is 100% yet, but it is still getting very exciting. |
| "Tian Tian is doing well, she is spending less and less time in public view, but visitors are being very understanding. | "Tian Tian is doing well, she is spending less and less time in public view, but visitors are being very understanding. |
| "It will be incredible. It won't just be the first pandas born in Edinburgh Zoo, it will be the first pandas born in the country. | "It will be incredible. It won't just be the first pandas born in Edinburgh Zoo, it will be the first pandas born in the country. |
| "As a non-profit organisation the pandas arriving have helped us do a lot more conservation work and a cub is just going to help us do more." | "As a non-profit organisation the pandas arriving have helped us do a lot more conservation work and a cub is just going to help us do more." |
| If a cub is born in Edinburgh, a blood test is expected to be carried out by conservation geneticists and confirmed by the laboratory at the Scottish zoo. | If a cub is born in Edinburgh, a blood test is expected to be carried out by conservation geneticists and confirmed by the laboratory at the Scottish zoo. |
| Any cub that is born at Edinburgh Zoo will be the property of the People's Republic of China and would be expected to return to China when it is two years old – the age they would naturally disperse in the wild. | Any cub that is born at Edinburgh Zoo will be the property of the People's Republic of China and would be expected to return to China when it is two years old – the age they would naturally disperse in the wild. |
| Once in China it will join the conservation programmes there either for breeding or reintroduction into the wild. | Once in China it will join the conservation programmes there either for breeding or reintroduction into the wild. |
| In keeping with Chinese tradition, any cubs that are born would not be named until they are 100 days old and would only go on display on 1 January 2014. | In keeping with Chinese tradition, any cubs that are born would not be named until they are 100 days old and would only go on display on 1 January 2014. |
| A report by Scottish Enterprise estimates the panda pair will generate almost £28 million in visitor spending for the Edinburgh economy alone during their 10 year stay, with an extra £19 million spent in the wider Scottish economy. | A report by Scottish Enterprise estimates the panda pair will generate almost £28 million in visitor spending for the Edinburgh economy alone during their 10 year stay, with an extra £19 million spent in the wider Scottish economy. |
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