Why does China take back its ‘gifted’ pandas? - Times of India (2024)

FAQs

Why does Fubao have to go back to China? ›

Born on July 20, 2020, Fu Bao was the first panda in South Korea to be born through natural breeding. Under the terms of the giant panda research cooperation program, all giant pandas born overseas should be returned to China before turning 4 years old.

Pandas themselves are also economically and culturally valuable. They are the national symbol of China and generate significant economic benefits for local communities through ecotourism and other activities.

The clause to return pandas to China is rooted in conservation concerns, because some zoologists said that it is in the best interest of the pandas and the conservation programme that the animals should eventually return to their natural habitat.

Importantly, Xin Xin is the only one of four pandas in the world that do not belong to China, as her grandparents Pe Pe and Ying Ying were gifted (not loaned) to Mexico in 1975 as thanks for recognising China's authority over Taiwan.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, pandas or their offspring loaned by China to other countries remain property of China. Their offspring have to be returned before they turn four years old.

Fubao was born in Everland to pandas Aibao and Lebao, who have been cared for in the theme park since 2016. Based on an agreement between South Korea and China, Fubao will be sent to the Shenshuping Panda Base in Wolong, Sichuan province, China.

Kai Kai and Jia Jia, Singapore's two giant pandas and their adorable cub Le Le, can only be found at the Giant Panda Forest at River Wonders, which is right next to the Singapore Zoo.

Despite their exalted status and relative lack of natural predators, pandas are still at risk. Severe threats from humans have left just over 1,800 pandas in the wild. Adults can grow to more than four feet.

The four-month-old panda boy's name is Lè Lè.

Mexico and the PRC established formal relations on 14 February 1972. On 10 September 1975, two pandas, Pe Pe (male) and Ying Ying (female), were gifted to Mexico as a sign of friendship by Mao Zedong following the April 1973 state visit to China by President Luis Echeverría.

Does Mexico own their pandas? ›

Shaun Shaun died in 2022, leaving Xin Xin as the last surviving panda in Mexico. The pandas at Chapultepec are special in that China does not have ownership. The original pair was given to Mexico and subsequent pandas have all been born prior to the change in policy from gifting to loaning.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan were two giant pandas that were gifted by the People's Republic of China (PRC, mainland China) to the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) in 2008 as part of a cultural exchange program.

In order to welcome Fubao back home, the Shenshuping giant panda base under the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda started preparations early. Currently, the center has prepared an enclosure, built multiple work teams, and carefully established an animal care team including two experienced keepers.

YONGIN, South Korea, April 3 (Reuters) - South Koreans bid farewell on Wednesday to Fu Bao, the first giant panda born in the country, as she left the zoo where she was born in 2020 to be flown to China in a tearful send-off by a large crowd of fans braving steady rain.

Suddenly, on June 6, 1950, the Army revoked Qian's security clearance and he was questioned by the FBI. Two weeks later, Qian announced that he would resign from Caltech and return to China, which was ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

The panda is leaving for China's Sichuan province, the home of the giant pandas, which is where her parents had originally come from. Last July, at the zoo, her mother Ai Bao gave birth again to giant panda twins.