Giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang removed from view due to colic
Tian Tian the female panda bear looks out from her enclosure as members of the public view her for the first time at Edinburgh Zoo on Dec 16 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
A Scottish zoo has removed from display two giant pandas on loan while they are treated for colic, according to The Associated Press.
Citing officials at Edinburgh Zoo, the AP reported that the giant female panda Tian Tian was treated Saturday and that her male companion Yang Guang was recovering from a bout diagnosed earlier this month.
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In the non-lethal condition, gas or intestinal obstruction causes severe abdominal pain.
The Press Association quoted a zoo spokewoman as saying that Tian Tian “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."
The PA said all zoo visitors with tickets to the panda enclosure had been refunded. The Scottish zoo is now only one of 13 in the world with pandas, according to the news agency, which said Tian Tian and Yang Guang had arrived in Edinburgh from the Ya’an reserve in Chengdu, China on Dec 16.
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According to The Guardian, the Scottish government spent $66,000 on festivities for the pandas’ arrival, something that upset animal rights activists who said this was meant to be paid for with private money.
The zoo expects to take in $388,000 in ticket receipts over ten years from visitors drawn to see the pandas.
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