Taiwan panda couple likely to breed

Hong Kong (CNS) -- The Taipei Zoo is anticipating the natural union of giant panda couple Tuantuan and Yuanyuan and the delighted breeders are making full preparations for the conception of the next generation.

Both pandas are seven and a half years of age, and the female recently showed evident signs of oestrus.

Public visits to the pair will be suspended once observation or hormone monitoring techniques sense the moment is approaching, the Central News Agency reported.

Both Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are more physically capable than on the occasion of their first contact last year, which unfortunately failed.

The couple was transported to the island in December of 2008, as a gift from the mainland.