* clears throat and puts on her best David Attenborough voice*

And here we have a nine year old male, know as Yang Guang. It's close to the breeding session and he has preparations to make before the short window of opportunity of 2 days to mate with his female, Tian Tian closes.

In the world of Pandas, size really does matter, something Yang Guang seems to know about. The larger he is, the better chance he has of making himself a suitable suitor for the female.

At only 17 stone, Yang Guang needs to put on at least another 3 to 4 stone before he will be ready for the opportunity to breed with Tian Tian.

He does what all males of all species seem to do at a critical point like this...

he lies back and simply stuffs his face.


Had a great day trip to the Zoo in Edinburgh. A great opportunity to take Claire on various modes of public transport. And as always, let her experience the ideal of public transport and an superb mode of travel, and of course the reality of public transport which is a little less than the ideal, that requires patience, resourcefulness, flexibility and a lowering of one's expectations.