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    'Under The Weather' Pandas Taken Off Display

    Scotland's giant pandas, the first to live in the UK for 17 years, have been taken off display after falling ill.

    Yang Guang and Tian Tian, also known as Sunshine and Sweetie, arrived at Edinburgh Zoo from the Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China, on December 4.

    They went on show to zoo visitors for the first time on December 16 after acclimatising to their new home away from the public glare.

    But less than a month after the pair went on display, Yang Guang, the male panda, started feeling unwell and was removed from public duties.

    He was found to be suffering from colic.

    Tian Tian, the female bear, was treated by vets this morning for the same problem.

    A zoo spokeswoman said: "Tian Tian has been under the weather this morning. One of our vets has been to visit her and suspects she has a bit of colic, similar to Yang Guang but much milder.

    "She is being allowed time to relax privately away from public view today and probably tomorrow also.

    "Yang Guang is expected to go back on public view on Monday, so unfortunately there is no panda viewing today."

    Yang Guang was said to be "brighter and more active" after he passed a plug of so-called panda slime earlier this month.

    The mucus jelly-like pellet is produced in the bear's large intestine to help ease the irritation of colic.

    Zoo officials said Yang Guang has already returned to eating large quantities of bamboo and said the bears' illness was not serious.

    The spokeswoman said all visitors with tickets for the panda enclosure have been refunded.

    She added: "We understand some visitors will be disappointed, however the welfare of our giant pandas has to be a priority."

    Since Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived, Edinburgh Zoo says demand for ticket sales has increased by around 200%.

    The animals are on loan from China for at least 10 years and are costing around £600,000 a year, but Edinburgh Zoo officials are confident that visitor numbers and panda merchandise will more than meet the costs.

    However, animal welfare campaigners have criticised the move of the animals claiming it has nothing to do with the conservation of the endangered species but more to do with commercial deals - a criticism the zoo has strongly denied.

     

    25 comments

    • Chrissy Knight  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      awh get well soon lovley bears
    • Caine  •  3 months ago
      So this is what we call animal welfare..These poor creatures are being exploited and removed from their habitat for our entertainment...Wrong on every angle....Not once has the panda program promoted by China paid the zoos involved. If you look at how China treats its citizens it should be a wake up call for how little they care for the animals they have except for in terms of monetary terms. The American zoos involved went into millions of dollars of debt..Wake up you idiots and let these animals have a normal life instead of being put into effectively what is a very stressful goldfish bowl for entertainment and profit...
      • A Yahoo! User 3 months ago
        They are not in very good conditions in the zoo in Beijing I couldn't believe how bad the conditions were when I visited .Small cement enclosure.Nothing for the panda's to do at all.
      • Caine 3 months ago
        Its shameful how we think we are helping them and yet the suffer more than they could ever in the wild..I wonder would they be better dead than to be stressed and so unhappy , it is torture for them everyday..It depends ion how you define life compared to existence ..
    • Mars in Polyester  •  Camberley, England  •  3 months ago
      I'd be depressed as well knowing that by all the laws of nature I should be extinct and am only kept for some alien amusement. Actually, now I come to think about it...
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 months ago
      They are taking on our feelings we are all depressed, did they realy have to be taken from their habitat
    • anon  •  3 months ago
      Pandas being taken 'off display' and 'expected to go back on public view' makes me feel quite sick, that's on top of them being there at all. No animal should be viewed as a 'public exhibit', if people really cared about them they'd be doing more to protect and keep them in their natural habitat not loaning them for peoples entertainment. Get well soon Yang Guang and Tian Tian.
    • RC  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Probably sick of being stared at.
    • glesga boy  •  3 months ago
      how is the health of the panda's recently delivered to france, call me cynical if you want, what other countries, have china given or sold panda's too, from a certain point of view, i think somebody is making some hard currency out of this.
    • ALEX  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      Perhaps, they have Salmond poisoning!!!!!!!
    • c  •  Edinburgh, Scotland  •  3 months ago
      Total waste of money and nothing to do with conservation of Pandas, if they take a turn for the worse Scotland will have to pay China ££££££££££££££££££ in compo.
      £600,000 a year could pay for the zoo to get a better carpark and also build new enclosures for the other animals, if they improved their existing facilities then they would get more visitors and all the animals will benefit.
      Its all about Scotland and China trade deals not animals.
      If you want to see better wildlife park then go to Highland Wildlife Park and see the wolves etc brilliant place to visit
      • susan 3 months ago
        You are lucky you up in Scotland...
      • spotty 3 months ago
        Scotland wouldn't have to pay - the deal is with the zoo alone. I expect they have insurance.
    • Lucy  •  Melrose, Scotland  •  3 months ago
      I think they're both sick of listening to the deep fried mars bar jokes from the english tourists.
      • Big Manfred 3 months ago
        Scottish people don't eat deep fried mars bars we only make them to sell them to dumb English tourist for a laugh!!!
    • buddy  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      it was always going to be a money making enterprise just leave these animals alone, if you want to see them and support them then do it where they live
      • Judith 3 months ago
        You mean the Chinese Zoo from which they came? They live a much better life in Scotland than they ever did in China. I am not pretending that they have a great life: However it is the captive breeding that enables these beautiful bears to be sent around the world and it is by sending them around the world so people can actually see them that gets people active in finding ways that they can help the future of the endangered breeds. They need help from mankind to stop the violence that mankind does upon these animals but if they remain just an image in a book people will not look at them as the handsome beasts that they are and will ignore the actions of poachers and medicine men that China still has in abundance. People should look upon these bears not simply as bears but as ambassadors for the Giant Panda community.
    • D  •  Manchester, England  •  3 months ago
      They're just as depressed as the rest of us in Scotland !!
    • T  •  3 months ago
      Can I take out life insurance on them?
    • nhoj  •  3 months ago
      HYPOCRITS!!!!
    • russ  •  3 months ago
      Too many deep-fried Mars Bar suppers?.....or haggis?...
      • Eddy Watchdog 3 months ago
        Yummeeeee!!!! a fantasy delicacy and that's for sure, Deep Fried Mars Bars are the business...
      • Big Manfred 3 months ago
        how original how funny pmsl never heard that line before what wit NOT!!!!
    • ALEX  •  3 months ago
      Aww, it could be worse, we could have independance,then China would have to send them food parcels too!
    • delia  •  Manchester, England  •  3 months ago
      wonderful pandas seem to be totally wasted on the scots judging by comments--i wish they'd sent them to london where they'dbe appreciated......
    • hmmmmm  •  3 months ago
      if scotland loses its independance referendum, maybe edinburgh could donate sumo salmond to a chinese zoo, with his special diet of sheeps stomachs and saturated fat, he would be no harder than a panda to care for.
    • CaptCamshaft  •  3 months ago
      Look what being in Scotland does.... even to pandas
    • anon  •  3 months ago
      too much buckfast and deep-fried mars bars from the locals...