AFTER private boudoirs, pools and a tunnel of love failed to get Britain’s giant pandas in the mood to mate, Edinburgh Zoo is to resort to a more old- fashioned approach. Switching the lights off at night.
On the anniversary of the arrival of the bears from China, zoo staff believe the move that has worked for humans the world over could create the optimum breeding conditions for Tian Tian and Yang Guang.
Last spring, conservationists hoping for Britain’s first successful panda breeding programme held their breath as the roly-poly pair wrestled and romped — but didn’t reproduce.
It is believed one of the problems may have been that lights in their enclosures were sometimes left on after sunset. It meant conditions in their dens