Atlanta Zoo's nearly 18 month old Giant Panda will be gradually weaned away from his mother in to a solitary life in keeping with how pandas live in the wild.

San Diego developed the step wise programme and it was used to wean Mai Lan (Atlanta's 3 year old that has just gone to China) and also used at other zoos in America. The programme gradually increases the time away from the mother.

Xi Lan should be fully weaned by early march. Xi Lan has already started to eat solid foods including bamboo, leafeater biscuits and fruit.