There will be no pitter patter of panda paws at Adelaide Zoo this year.
For the fourth year in a row, the zoo's giant pandas, Wang Wang and his partner Funi, failed to mate but the zoo says "they got so close".
"We saw some great advancement over previous years, and there were only a handful of little things here and there that they didn't quite get right," acting senior panda keeper Lucy Catt said on Friday.
She said that although a "competent" mating did not take place, the four days of introductions between the pair gave them an invaluable opportunity to build their breeding skills.
Female pandas have a very short fertility window of 48 hours, which is why breeding can be so difficult.
"The team is so excited to see how much progress the pair have made since their first breeding season in 2011," Ms Catt said.
"We saw very little play behaviour of previous years and Funi became submissive when Wang Wang showed his dominance, while Wang Wang was very focused, taking many opportunities to mount her, or hold her into position.
"There's no doubt we're disappointed that the pandas didn't mate successfully this year, although it was not unexpected due to their age and inexperience.
"The pandas, and our team, have learnt so much this year, and with a little more time and maturity we know a successful mating is possible."
Funi and Wang Wang arrived in Adelaide in 2009 on loan from China for a decade.
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