ATLANTA — Zoo Atlanta's giant pandas are heading back to China at the end of 2024, according to the zoo on Friday.
The zoo said its agreement has expired after 25 years. To celebrate the bears, Zoo Atlanta is hosting a Summer of Celebration, with a kickoff event on Saturday, June 1, 2024.
Dynamic cultural performances and educational activities are available from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are free for Zoo Atlanta Members and free with general admission.
Although the zoo has not confirmed the dates for the pandas' return, it has stated that it will inform the public as soon as the information is available.
"No discussions have yet taken place with partners in China as to the future of the Zoo’s giant panda program following the expiration of Zoo Atlanta’s current agreement," the zoo said in part.
Zoo Atlanta said it would continue to be committed to the long-term conservation of the species.
More on Zoo Atlanta's Pandas
Zoo Atlanta has four pandas, including the first twins born in the United States in more than a quarter century. Giant pandas typically care for only one cub when twins are born in the wild, which usually leads to just one twin surviving.
Ya Lun and Xi Lun and their parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, are their names.
Zoo Atlanta's Statement on Conservation Efforts
Dating to the mid-1990s, even prior to the arrival of Lun Lun and Yang Yang in 1999, Zoo Atlanta’s partnership with colleagues in China has a longtime history of collaboration and information sharing that has benefited the care, study, and conservation of giant pandas.
Since the inception of its giant panda program, Zoo Atlanta has contributed over $17 million in support of the conservation of wild giant pandas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated the giant panda’s status from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016; however, fewer than 1,900 giant pandas are believed to remain in the wild in China, with the majority living on nature reserves. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation remain the primary threats to wild giant pandas. Conservation support from Zoo Atlanta has benefited pandas living on nature reserves, aiding in reforestation efforts, reserve management and ranger support, and genetic diversity studies.
In addition to conservation support and contributions to the global body of scientific knowledge of giant pandas and their biology and behavior, the Zoo Atlanta panda program has been notably successful in terms of future contributions to the population of the species. Seven giant pandas have been born at the Zoo since 2006, including two successful pairs of twins. Offspring of Lun Lun and Yang Yang include Mei Lan (born 2006); Xi Lan (born 2008); Po (born 2010); twins Mei Lun and Mei Huan (born 2013); and twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun (born 2016). Mei Lan, Xi Lan, Po, Mei Lun, and Mei Huan already reside at the Chengdu Research Center of Giant Panda Breeding in China and have since all become parents themselves.