Timeline in lives of Edinburgh’s giant pandas

2011:

December 4: The two pandas arrive in Scotland on a Boeing 777F flight dubbed the “panda express”.

December 16: Hundreds of visitors queue to see the pandas on display at Edinburgh Zoo for the first time.

2012:

February 1: The zoo says visitor numbers are up 200% thanks to the pandas. About 70,000 people have seen Tian Tian and Yang Guang since their arrival.

April 3: The pandas are brought together for the first time in a “love tunnel” as Tian Tian is judged ready to mate. April 5: Pandas failed to mate. December 2: Just before the pandas’ first anniversary at the zoo, keepers say they have had more than 500,000 visitors, including the Princess Royal.

2013:

April 21: The zoo announces Tian Tian was artificially inseminated after she displayed behaviour not “conducive to mating”.

October 15: Zoo officials say Tian Tian’s behaviour indicates she is not pregnant.

2015:

March 26: Tian Tian is artificially inseminated for a third year in a bid to produce a cub.

August 25: Keepers announce the pregnancy window has now passed.

2017:

March 18-19: Artificial insemination was carried out for a fifth time using Yang Guang’s sperm after Tian Tian hit peak oestrus, the earliest this had happened over the past six years.

August 24: Edinburgh Zoo confirms it believes the female panda could be pregnant.

Keepers hope it will be fifth time lucky for Tian Tian.