Atlanta Zoo pandas will return to China as giant panda agreement expires

GEORGIA (WRBL) — Four pandas at Zoo Atlanta will be returning to China later this year as the zoo’s giant panda agreement expires. According to CBS News, these are the last four giant pandas remaining in U.S. zoos.

Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun and Xi Lun are expected to depart from their home at the Atlanta Zoo sometime in the fourth quarter of 2024. The zoo has applied for the pandas’ international travel permit.

Specific timing will be determined as the Zoo collaborates with official partners in China. Zoo Atlanta expects to be able to give advanced notice of the pandas’ departure, as the process for sending them back to China requires months of planning.

This should give fans and friends ample time to visit the four pandas before they depart.

Since the the beginning of its giant panda program, Zoo Atlanta says it has contributed over $17 million in support of the conservation of wild giant pandas. In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature updated the giant panda’s status from “endangered” to “vulnerable.”

Fewer than 1,900 giant pandas are believed to remain in the wild in China, according to a statistic from the zoo. The majority of them live on nature reserves as habitat loss and fragmentation continues to the the giant panda’s primary threat.

Since 2006, seven pandas have been born at Zoo Atlanta, including two pairs of twins.

Zoo Atlanta is planning a “Summer of Celebration” to commemorate its 25-year-long giant panda program. The kickoff event featuring performances and educational activities is being held Saturday, June 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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