'Punitive panda diplomacy'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 San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year. The departure of the National Zoo's bears would mean that the only giant pandas left in America are at the Atlanta Zoo — and that loan agreement expires late next year.
The panda loan agreement concluded in 2019, and giant pandas Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu were repatriated to China in spring 2019, in keeping with the terms of our agreement. All six of the pandas born at our zoo have returned to their homeland in China, where they continue to make us proud!
Red PandasThey are most active at dawn and dusk, but with a keen eye you might catch a glimpse of Lucas, Kola, or Adira and her cub sunbathing during the day. Enjoy watching our red pandas in their habitat at Asian Passage, at the San Diego Zoo.
Video: Red panda escapes San Diego Zoo habitat by climbing tree. A red panda climbed a tree and escaped his San Diego Zoo habitat over the weekend but was captured hours later and returned to his home.
In 1984, China ended panda gifts, switching to a policy of high-priced loans. This history has made Mexico one of a few countries able to keep locally born panda cubs. Since 1985, the loan program has required that zoos return any cubs to China.
And out of the 350 giant pandas, only a mere 50 can be found outside of China. As per reports, China has direct ownership over every living giant panda around the world, even if they might have been born in another country.
That's because almost all pandas, even ones born abroad, are considered the property of China—as part of a loan program it has with selected zoos around the world.
Our elephant habitats spread out over six acres, divided into two main yards, and providing all the elephants with opportunities for social interaction and with inviting space. With eight African elephants, there's always something happening here!
The San Diego Zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year. The departure of the National Zoo's bears would mean that the only giant pandas left in America are at the Atlanta Zoo — and that loan agreement expires late next year.
YaYa languished before at the Memphis Zoo and now is much happier in China. A chubby, active, and happy YaYa is now seen playing in the yard of Beijing Zoo.
The Chinese government, which gifted the first pair of pandas - Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling - to the U.S., now leases the pandas out for a typical 10-year renewable term. The annual fee ranges from $1 million to $2 million per pair, plus mandatory costs to build and maintain facilities to house the animals.
Tian Tian and Yang Guang are the pandas that are housed in Edinburgh Zoo in the UK. They live in 275,000 pounds suites and have organic food flown in from the Continent. They are on loan from China and will return in 2023.
China technically owns every panda in the world. The pandas are rented to zoos throughout the world for sometimes as much as one million dollars per year.