ATLANTA — The un-bear-able news has dropped: Zoo Atlanta’s beloved giant pandas are getting their pass-paws ready to leave China in the coming weeks.
For months, visitors and members have been asking the same question: “When are the pandas leaving?” Well, the panda-monium of guessing is over.
Zoo Atlanta has confirmed that the four black-and-white zoo stars will return home in mid-October. While we don’t know their exact flight details, the zoo encourages all their loyal fans to stop by and say goodbye before mid-October.
If you’re one of the pandas' faithful fans, you have about three weeks to watch these gentle giants chow down on bamboo and laze around like they own the place. The departure is part of the giant panda agreement between the U.S. and China, and sadly, their time is up.
“We can’t at this time speculate on the future of the panda program here at Zoo Atlanta, as no such conversations have yet taken place with our partners in China,” the zoo said.
Zoo Atlanta will host a “Panda-Palooza” event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024, with special activities wishing the giant pandas farewell.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 5, Zoo Atlanta plans to host a “Panda-Palooza” celebrating the legacy of these panda-riffic creatures. The community is invited to attend the festivities.
Be sure to check out Zoo Atlanta’s PandaCam, where you can continue to watch these bamboo enthusiasts until their departure.
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.