Zoo experts hope for panda insemination success

Experts at Edinburgh Zoo are hoping female giant panda Tian Tian will become pregnant after she was artificially inseminated in the early hours on Sunday.

Despite the male panda, Yang Guang, having shown "consistently encouraging behaviour", natural mating was not attempted.

A zoo spokeswoman said the artificial insemination procedures went very much to plan and both pandas were well.

The announcement follows a week when Tian Tian's hormones showed she was approaching her 36-hour fertile period.