Two giant pandas arrive at Zoo Atlanta on 10-year loan from China
publishers 42articles 58first reported 24 Sep, 16:22 UTCdeveloping since 24 Sep · 7 editionstop 25 #22
Two giant pandas arrived in Atlanta on Sunday from Chengdu, China, beginning a 10-year loan to Zoo Atlanta.
Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, traveled aboard a dedicated FedEx Boeing 777 and landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a flight of about 16 hours. The pandas, both born in 2020 and previously housed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, were transported from the airport to the zoo with a police escort.
Zoo visitors will not see them immediately. The animals will spend about a month in quarantine in a biosecure area of the zoo’s renovated giant panda complex, and officials have not announced a date for their public debut. Zoo Atlanta said it expanded the pandas’ enclosures and arranged a long-term supply of locally grown bamboo ahead of their arrival.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during a three-day summit in Washington that the pandas would reach Atlanta within days, describing panda exchanges as an example of friendship between Americans and Chinese. The loan agreement had been announced in April, but no arrival date was given at that time.
Zoo Atlanta returned its previous four pandas to China in 2024, ending a 25-year period in which the zoo housed the animals. President and CEO Raymond B. King said the zoo was “elated” to welcome the new pair and looked forward to introducing them to visitors in the coming weeks.
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