SINCE they first arrived in Scotland almost 12 years ago, the pandas have been the undisputed star attraction of Edinburgh Zoo. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to catch a privileged glimpse of the world’s most beloved but endangered animals. And their will-they-won’t-they struggle to get pregnant has given them a public profile to rival the contestants in a reality TV show.
But for Alison Maclean, Yang Guang and Tian Tian – also known as Sunshine and Sweetie – are neither abstract examples of conservation in action nor remote animal celebrities. Instead, the lead zoo-keeper in charge of the pandas, who can claim to know them better than anyone else in the world, enjoys a unique bond with her charges, forged over years of daily contact.
The 58-year-old won their trust with patience and bamboo, then gradually learned to recognise their distinctive personalities and individual quirks, from Yang Guang’s ticklish feet to Tian Tian’s fascination with the neighbouring zebras.
She has experienced the sadness of Tian Tian’s failed pregnancies and the trauma of Yang Guang’s nerve-wracking cancer diagnosis, but also moments of joy watching the bears play.
Last week it was announced that the animals will be returning to their native China in December, giving Mrs Maclean reason to reflect. She told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘Looking after the UK’s only pair of giant pandas has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience that most people never have the opportunity to have.
Alison Maclean has looked after ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Sweetie’ for 12 years and knows them better than anyone
She is now preparing for their return to China in December
‘I’ve probably spent more time with these pandas than I have with my family over the past 12 years – my husband would likely testify to that – so they have been a big part of my life. It’ll be massive when they go.’
Yang Guang and Tian Tian became the first giant pandas in the UK for 17 years when their special Panda Express cargo plane touched down in Edinburgh in December 2011.
Mrs Maclean had already travelled to China nine months earlier to be introduced to the pair. But they took time getting used to her.
She recalled: ‘At first they totally ignored me. I was just another person. But I would spend whole days with them, feeding them or just sitting near them, and after a while I became someone they knew.
‘They would see me, there would also be scent recognition and I would talk to them all the time so they were used to my voice. From the minute they arrived in Edinburgh they would have that familiarity.’
For Mrs Maclean, the working day usually begins at 5am when she checks the live panda-cam feed ‘to check they’re alright and they’ve had a good night’.
On arrival at the enclosures, she sometimes receives a ‘greeting bleat’ from the male, meaning ‘I’m here, feed me’.
Yang Guang is ‘people oriented’ and different from ‘quiet’ Tian Tian, whose most revealing moments are when she thinks nobody is looking, often wandering off to sit and watch the zebras in an adjacent enclosure.
Mrs Maclean said: ‘As a zoo keeper, every animal stays with you… but there are some that stay with you forever. I didn’t realise how special pandas were until I started working with them. I would say I know these pandas better than anybody. I can tell when they’re happy or feeling a little bit off.’
Her closeness to the pandas led her to notice an abnormality in Yang Guang in 2018, which was later diagnosed as testicular cancer.
Mrs Maclean and the zoo’s panda team have patiently trained the pandas to undergo everything from dental checks to having blood samples taken, as well as ultrasounds and stethoscope heart monitoring.
Giant panda Tian Tian, also known as Sweetie, likes to watch the zebras at Edinburgh Zoo
She said: ‘The greatest pleasure is working with them and doing the training because I know in doing that we are allowing them to participate in their own healthcare.
‘It’s through that we were able to pick up Yang Guang’s cancer. The morning we noticed the abnormality, the vet did an ultrasound and we were able to see there was a problem and get it dealt with.
‘If we hadn’t had that bond and that relationship and training we might not have seen it and it could have spread because it was an aggressive cancer.’
After an operation to castrate Yang Guang and remove the tumour, there was a tense wait to see if it had spread.
She said: ‘For me, that was the scariest time, until we knew he was fully clear. As time has gone on he has remained clear but there was always that worry. Finding out that he is clear was a wonderful moment and continues to be.’
Other high points for Mrs Maclean include watching the pandas enjoy themselves each day. She said: ‘Yang Guang loves climbing trees, sitting in the fork of the branch looking about, and playing in his pool.
‘Tian Tian is a bit more shy but she’s also playful. I love watching her. She has a nesting log and she goes in there and rearranges it and has a beautiful proper nest. It’s lovely to see her do that.
‘I’ve seen her go to the top of her enclosure and sit watching the zebras on the other side. She does it a lot at night and we can watch her on the cameras.
‘She tends to go out more when it’s quiet and she thinks nobody is looking. She’ll wander up there and do her own thing. She’s a free spirit. I’ve seen her watching the birds and playfully swiping at butterflies fluttering about. Or she’ll sit up high and look at the stars at night.’
Another of Yang Guang’s quirks include an exceptionally ticklish back paw. Mrs Maclean said: ‘On one of his back paws he has a claw that overgrows and so we trained him to allow us to trim it, but his foot is extremely tickly – more than you can imagine.
Princess Anne meets and greets one of the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo
The travel crate containing giant panda Yang Guang (sunshine) is unloaded from a plane at Edinburgh airport
‘I can touch every claw on every other paw and clip them, but this one is so ticklish that he lifts that back foot and puts it behind his ear so I can’t get to it.’
Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived in Edinburgh as part of an initial ten-year arrangement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, which saw the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) pay the Chinese an annual ‘donation’ of one million dollars – around £750,000.
The RZSS later negotiated a two-year extension. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the pair will return to China without having any offspring, despite attempts at natural breeding and artificial insemination since 2013.
Breeding attempts were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic and, while there were high hopes of success in 2021 by artificial insemination, no further attempts have been made. RZSS chief executive David Field said recently that the pair appeared to be a perfect match when they arrived in 2011, but the iconic animals just didn’t click.
Mrs Maclean revealed she has kept a bottle of Champagne ready for almost a decade in anticipation of a cub and admits she hasn’t quite given up hope.
Tian Tian had twins before coming to Scotland and it remains possible she could yet have another cub, if a more suitable match can be found for her.
Mrs Maclean said: ‘My husband bought me a bottle of Champagne about nine years ago because we thought we were definitely on to a winner. It’s still sitting unopened. I would have loved it for her to have a cub because I know that before she was a great mum.
‘Tian Tian was ok with Yang Guang to begin with but it just didn’t work. There was a frustration from both animals and that’s not a good precursor for animals mating.
‘We and our colleagues in China said it isn’t going to work between this pair, and that happens.
‘Having a cub would have been fantastic but they are amazing individuals in their own right and people have come to love them as Scotland’s pandas. It’s my hope that maybe she’ll breed when she goes back. The Champagne is still sitting there. If she has a cub in China I’ll open it from afar.’
Following a year of farewell events, Mrs Maclean will accompany the pandas on their charter flight back to China and help them settle into their new homes.
She said: ‘The point when I have to turn around and walk away for the last time will be tough. But there’s still a lot of work to do in the lead up to them going.
‘We need to get them trained for their transport crates, get them comfortable in them and I’m focusing on that side of it.
‘There are Chinese keepers who worked with them for seven years who haven’t seen them for 12 years and now they are coming back.
‘They’re going to be really excited to see them again.’
She confirmed that the RZSS will remain in close contact with Yang Guang and Tian Tian’s keepers in China. She revealed she also has another plan to remember Scotland’s pandas. Several years ago she took paw prints from each of the pandas, which she plans to have made into a tattoo.
She said: ‘I like the idea of being in an old folks home somewhere and somebody comes along and asks about old Alison’s tattoo and I can tell the story of how I looked after Scotland’s only pandas.’