The first giant pandas to live in Britain for almost two decades are to have a ‘tunnel of love’ to encourage them to mate and a nursery for their offspring, it has emerged。
Edinburgh Zoo unveiled plans for the £250,000 state-of-the-art enclosure being built for the pair, called Tian Tian and Yang Guang, ahead of their arrival from China later this year。
Among the other features of their new home, the zoo’s former gorilla house, will be a bamboo forest, a small cave suitable for sleeping, climbing frames and paddling pools to cool themselves。
There will also be a fully-fitted kitchen for keepers to prepare food, a hospital for dealing with any emergencies, a birthing area and the nursery。
The public will be able to view the pandas at close quarters from either a split-level, glass-fronted walkway or a number of webcams that will broadcast live footage over the internet。
However, one area where it is hoped the pandas can get some privacy is the tunnel running between their two enclosures. They are notoriously solitary animals and their breeding season lasts only between two and seven days from March to May。
Marty Hall, the zoo’s facilities manager, said: “The tunnel means that they can meet up at controlled times and there are enough areas away from the public where they can go and hide away together。”
Both pandas are being lent to Britain for 10 years, although it is expected that any offspring they produce during that period will be returned to China shortly after birth。
The last pandas in the UK, Ming Ming and Bao Bao, were shipped out in 1994 after failing to mate. Only nine zoos outside China currently house the animals, three of which are in Europe。
Edinburgh Zoo is expecting to double its visitor numbers after their arrival, which followed five years of negotiations at the highest political and diplomatic levels。
Tian Tian, a female, and Yangguang, a male, were both born in 2003 and are currently housed at Wolong Panda Breeding Centre in China’s Sichuan Province, which is home to 250 breeding giant pandas。
However, the animals’ low sex drive means only 20 panda cubs are born in captivity every year around the world. Both Edinburgh’s new pandas have produced offspring previously, but not with each other。
来自中国的大熊猫“甜甜”和“阳光”将落户英国爱丁堡动物园，这是近20年后大熊猫再次在英国安家。据报道，动物园将为两只大熊猫专门开辟“爱情隧道”以鼓励交配，还为它们的后代准备了保育室。
爱丁堡动物园公布了为大熊猫“甜甜”和“阳光”准备的顶级熊猫馆的修建计划，熊猫馆斥资25万英镑。这对大熊猫将在下半年抵达动物园。
这对大熊猫的新家的前身是猩猩馆，这里将被改造为一片竹林，还将搭建一间适合睡觉的小洞穴、供熊猫攀爬的架子、以及用来乘凉的嬉水池。
熊猫馆里还有一间设备齐全的厨房，饲养员在这里为熊猫准备食物、以及一间急诊室、一间生育室、以及保育室。
公众可以从错层式的玻璃走廊或数个网络摄像机那里近距离观看大熊猫。网络摄像机会在网上实时直播大熊猫视频。
但大熊猫在两个熊猫馆之间的隧道里可以享有充分的隐私。大熊猫是出了名的独居动物，每年的繁殖期在三月至五月间，仅持续两到七天。
动物园设施经理马蒂•霍尔说：“它们可以在隧道里碰面，但次数有限。那里有足够的空间躲开游客的视线，它们可以一起躲去那里幽会。”
两只熊猫都租借到英国，租期为10年。据悉，它们在此期间产下的幼仔将在出生后不久送回中国。
在此之前，大熊猫“明明”和“宝宝”在1994年离开了英国，未能交配成功。除中国外，目前全球仅有九家动物园有大熊猫，其中三家在欧洲。
爱丁堡动物园希望在大熊猫安家后，游客数量能翻番。此前，为引进大熊猫，中英双方已进行了五年政治和外交层面的协商。
雌性大熊猫“甜甜”和雄性大熊猫“阳光”都出生于2003年，目前在中国四川卧龙大熊猫繁育中心生活。该中心已繁育出250只大熊猫。
但大熊猫的性欲十分低下，全球每年仅能人工繁育出20只大熊猫幼仔。“甜甜”和“阳光”之前都曾和其它大熊猫交配并产下幼仔。
