Why a no-fly zone helped Edinburgh's panda get knocked up

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, if you were in Edinburgh Zoo in late July it was very unlikely to be the second one – because air traffic control put a no-fly zone in place to help the animals to get it on.

That’s right. The (as yet not 100% certain) pregnancy of Edinburgh’s celebrity panda Tian Tian has at least in part been put down to the kindly Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) agreeing to advise planes not to fly over and disturb her.

(Danny Lawson/PA)

However, when the restriction was put in place on July 11 the zoo had no idea Tian Tian might get artificially knocked up. Apparently the no-fly ruling was made more with their lusty penguins in mind.

Tian Tian was artificially inseminated in April and scientists had been monitoring her over the following months. But the announcement – against all evolutionary logic – that “the latest scientific data” pointed to a possible pregnancy only came last week.

Tian Tian (r) and the mate she never mates with, Yang Guang. (PA)

“The (order) was advisory so if necessary, pilots could still fly through this area providing they complied with the rules of the air,” a CAA spokesman explained.

The order requested pilots not to fly within a one-mile radius of the zoo, or below 1,900 feet above sea level. It expired on July 31, and the CAA say they have no intention of issuing any similar advice to pilots in the near future.

And this is what Edinburgh hopes will be arriving by the end of the month. (David Goldman/AP)

Tian Tian’s hormone and protein levels are being checked regularly but it will not be known for certain if she is pregnant until she gives birth.

She was successfully inseminated last year too, but lost her cub at late term – something the zoo is wary of happening again.