Pandas may be ready to breed

The UK’s giant pandas could be ready to mate within the next month.

Panda specialists at Edinburgh Zoo say Tian Tian (Sweetie) the female and Yang Guang (Sunshine) the male have already started to show important changes in their behaviour, indicating their readiness to mate soon.

Yang Guang recently began doing handstands against trees, walls and rocks, scent-marking as high up as possible — known as a display of virility in the wild.

Tian Tian has already started calling out to the male, which is common in the breeding season.

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