Giant panda Shin Shin (left) and Ri Ri = 2017, Ueno Park, Tokyo (Provided by Tokyo Zoo Association)
The giant panda pair from Ueno Zoo (Taito Ward, Tokyo), male Ri Ri and female Shin Shin, both 19 years old, departed the zoo on the 29th in a truck, returning to China. They will be transported to China via a charter flight from Narita Airport and will arrive at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Sichuan Province on the same day.
The truck left the zoo around 4 a.m. Fans gathered to wave goodbye, and some staff members were seen shedding tears. Zoo director Toyoshi Fukuda said, “It’s a little sad, but I feel more gratitude at this moment. I hope they can live peacefully in the environment where they were born and raised.” The two pandas were said to have entered their transport crates calmly, receiving a small amount of water, apples, and carrots.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Ri Ri and Shin Shin were born in Sichuan Province in 2005 and came to Ueno Zoo in February 2011 on a loan for breeding research purposes. As they entered their senior years, they began showing symptoms like high blood pressure and were undergoing medical treatment. Experts discussed and judged that it was preferable to return them and provide treatment while they were still in a transportable healthy condition. On the final viewing day on the 28th of this month, many fans came to bid them farewell.