Edinburgh Zoo’s giant panda celebrates 18th birthday

Yang Guang and Tian Tian were moved to the UK in 2011.

Edinburgh Zoo’s giant panda celebrates 18th birthday Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo’s giant panda Yang Guang has turned 18-years-old.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian were moved to the UK in 2011 from China on a ten-year loan.

Last month, the pandas were removed from China’s endangered species list.

Chinese authorities said that the panda population in the wild had grown to 1800 and credited the role played by nature reserves in protecting the previously threatened species.

Pandas were moved into ‘vulnerable’ status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2016 – but Chinese wildlife experts remained cautious about threats to the species at the time.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian may have to return to China next year at the end of their loan due to financial pressures.

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