Zoo Atlanta’s giant pandas leave for China after 25 years in the city

Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – After decades at Zoo Atlanta and months of goodbye celebrations, the zoo’s beloved giant panda family boarded a FedEx plane bound for China on Saturday morning.

Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun and Xi Lun are headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. They were sent with three Zoo Atlanta employees, 300 pounds of bamboo, 10 pounds of fresh produce and 20 pounds of biscuits made for leaf-eating animals, the zoo said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Panda-Palooza’: Zoo Atlanta bidding farewell to giant pandas after 25 years

Lun Lun and Yang Yang have been at Zoo Atlanta since 1999. Born in 2016, Ya Lun and Xi Lun are twins and two of the pair’s seven children, the rest of which have already been sent to the research base.

In early 2024, the zoo announced the pandas would be sent back home after the loan agreement with China expired.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Zoo Atlanta’s giant pandas returning to China in late 2024, facility says

“While Zoo Atlanta will certainly miss Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun, and their departure is bittersweet, they have created a momentous legacy here in Atlanta and around the world, leaving their mark not only in the hearts of their friends and fans, but on the scientific and zoological communities’ understanding of the behavior, biology, and care of this rare and treasured species,” Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement. “It has been our privilege to be able to share this remarkable family with our members and guests for 25 years.”

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