The UK’s only giant pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian, have left Edinburgh Zoo for China at the end of their 12-year loan.
The 20-year-old pandas have been in Scotland since December 2011 as part of a 10-year loan agreement between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, which was later extended by two years.
Preparations to return Yang Guang and Tian Tian to the China Wildlife Conservation Association base at Chengdu in Sichuan province have been underway for years.
The giant pandas are making their way home on a Boeing 777 cargo plane operated by China Southern. They will travel in two bespoke metal crates, the BBC reports.
They will be accompanied on the 13-hour flight by a keeper from Edinburgh Zoo, an RZSS veterinarian, and a Chinese representative.
RZSS vet Stephanie Mota said (via BBC): “During the flight I’m not expecting to have major challenges.
“Yang Guang and Tian Tian are healthy so my plan is to feed them plenty of bamboo throughout the flight.
“I will monitor them very closely of course and they will also have one of their favourite keepers with them so they should be happy.”
Yang Guang and Tian Tian’s return to Chengdu
Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS, added: “There’s a whole lot of logistics that have to happen.”
Last month, RZSS chief executive David Field said: “With more than a million species at risk of extinction and our natural world in crisis, Yang Guang and Tian Tian have had an incredible impact by inspiring millions of people to care about nature.
“That added interest in the panda’s departure this year has allowed us to connect many more people with the conservation causes that RZSS is actively involved with, and with nature more generally.”
Images courtesy of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
