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Edinburgh Zoo’s Female Panda Tian Tian Has Lost Her Cub

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Oct 16, 2013 11:04 AM EDT

Hopes were dashed of the first ever panda being born in the Britain when Edinburgh Zoo’s female giant panda named Tain Tian lost her cub.

The officials announced that Tian Tian is no longer expecting a cub which she had conceived and carried for a long term.

The female panda was artificially inseminated in April and she was positively showing signs of pregnancy for the past few months.

“Such a loss has always been in our minds as a very real possibility, as it occurs in giant pandas as well as many other animals, including humans,” said Chris West, chief executive officer for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, according to BBC..

“Our dedicated team of keepers, veterinary staff and many others worked tirelessly to ensure Tian Tian received the best care possible, which included remote observation and closing the panda enclosure to visitors to give her quiet and privacy,” he later added.

It is decided that the panda enclosure will be kept closed until the end of the week to give Tian Tian some time to get back in her normal routine. Also it will give a chance to recuperate for her keepers.

“The majority of research centres and zoos with giant pandas around the world have not successfully bred until the third or fourth year. What we have achieved, considering we have had giant pandas for less than two years, is immense,” Mr. West added.

“New hormone research is beginning to indicate that lost pregnancies are more common in giant pandas than first thought, though at the moment no-one knows why.”

According to BBC, the zoo is renting Tian Tian and a male panda named Yang Guang from China for £600,000 a year. Officials hope that cubs will attract more visitors in the zoo.

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