Tian Tian and YangGuang will be given the opportunity to meet up to three times for short 15 to 30 minute intervals, following the pattern of how pandas would come together briefly in the wild to mate.
YangGuang had been interested and shown consistently encouraging behaviour, however based on his many years' experience, our Chinese colleague Professor Wang felt that although Tian Tian had displayed all of the correct behaviours, she had also displayed signs that told him she would not be conducive to mating.