What is the controversy with Ya Ya Panda?

Ya Ya was born in the Beijing Zoo in 2000 and was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in the United States under a 10-year agreement, which ended this April. During her stay in the US, Ya Ya and Le Le, the Memphis Zoo's male panda, were in poor health, which led to accusations that the US was not taking proper care of them.



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With diplomatic tensions running high between Beijing and a number of Western governments, China appears to be gradually pulling back its pandas from multiple Western zoos as their agreements expire.

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The pandas are treated as much like wild animals as possible. This is foremost a research unit, the workplace for resident Chinese and international scientists, and you can watch a documentary about their breeding projects.

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China began to offer pandas to other nations only on ten-year lease. The standard lease terms include a fee of up to US$1 million per year and a provision that any cubs born during the lease period be the property of the People's Republic of China.

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MEMPHIS, Tennessee — It's official. On Wednesday, the Memphis Zoo announced their pandas will be heading back to China next year, ending a 20-year-long stay.

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