Chester Zoo Scientists helps Panda get pregnant

Scientists at Chester Zoo have said hormone changes in Edinburgh Zoo’s female panda indicate she will come into heat within days.

Experts at the zoo, home to the UK’s only endocrinology laboratory which specialises in studying hormone levels in wildlife, have been asked by counterparts in Scotland to predict exactly when giant panda Tian Tian will be fertile.

And a hormone “crossover” - a rise in oestrogen levels and a sharp drop in progesterone – has now been spotted following weeks of daily tests; meaning the time is now close.

Using hormone monitoring to predict oestrus is vital in giant pandas. Females only come into season once a year for approximately 36 hours. Introductions can only be made when the female is fully receptive to the male, otherwise they may fight and injure each other or the male may waste valuable energy in failed mating attempts.