After spending 10 years at Edinburgh Zoo, the resident giant pandas are preparing to return to China. Visitors can see the bears for the final time on Thursday, after which they will be out of sight as keepers prepare them for the journey home. The exact date and time of their departure has been kept undisclosed for security and safety reasons, but sources believe it to be next week. Under the terms of a 10-year loan, extended due to the pandemic, the pandas will return to the zoo in December.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs the zoo, paid China an annual fee of one million dollars for the bears. Within a year, the “panda effect” had boosted ticket sales by about 50%. However, despite the best efforts of zoo staff and veterinarians from China, the breeding programme failed to produce any cubs after eight attempts at artificial insemination between the pair. The programme was stopped after the last attempt in 2021.
Zookeeper Michael Livingston has looked after the bears since they arrived in Scotland in 2011 and will be accompanying them on their journey back to China. He described his experience of looking after the pandas as a learning curve, as they were “completely different” to bears they had cared for in the past. Livingston said, “They needed a bit more attention, they were a lot more sensitive… We quickly learned there was a seasonality of the species they like. Some species they won’t eat at certain times of the year. We became experts in bamboo care.”
Livingston also shared his insight into the bears’ different personalities, with Yang Guang being a “people panda”, and Tian Tian being much more independent. Livingston said, “She likes interaction when she wants it. She likes things her own way.” While he said he feels the bears have consumed their lives for the past 12 years, Livingston also expressed feeling “lucky” to be able to accompany the pandas on their return to China.
Upon arrival, the bears will spend a month in quarantine at the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Centre in Ya’an, in the Sichuan province. The China Wildlife Conservation Association said the country is now “well-prepared to welcome them back”. While the pandas will bid farewell to Edinburgh Zoo for now, their time in Scotland has certainly left its mark on the zoo and its visitors
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