Memphis Zoo Return Panda Ya And Le Le To China After 20 Years

Panda at Memphis Zoo Twitter @MemphisZoo

JAKARTA - The Memphis Zoo, Tennessee, United States returned two giant pandas that had been borrowed from China for 20 years, to celebrations from animal advocates who said their health had deteriorated as they were ignored.

Wednesday's announcement comes after months of criticism by In Defense of Animals (IDA) and other advocacy groups, who think zoos do not provide adequate care for pandas respectively named Ya Ya and Le Le Le.

Critics called on the zoo to give them better food, more time without a cage and eventually transferred to a panda shelter.

IDA posted a video on Twitter in February showing pandas pacing around their cages, evidence that they suffer from "physical, mental, and emotional shortcomings." The post received thousands of likes and was retweeted by singer Billie Eilish.

However, a zoo spokesman said the decision to return pandas to China had nothing to do with pressure from animal lovers.

Giant pandas Ya Ya & Le Le will return to China after 2 decades at Memphis Zoo in US, as the zoo's current giant panda loan agreement with Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens will end in 2023.Two other zoos in US -Smithsonian's National Zoo and Zoo Atlanta -are housing 🐼 pic.twitter.com/MWAPEhNlPn

— Chinese Embassy in Switzerland (@ChinaEmbinCH) December 22, 2022

China needs a foreign zoo that houses pandas on loan, to allow older animals to spend their last days in Chinese soil.

At the age of 24, respectively, Le Le and Ya Ya have surpassed the life expectancy of giant pandas in the wild for nearly 10 years, according to a spokesman.

The giant pandas, whose black and white faces make them loved around the world, are considered vulnerable species, with most of their natural mountainous habitat in southwest China threatened by deforestation.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), about 1,800 pandas remain in the wild and another 500 in zoos around the world. With Ya Ya and Le Le returning to China, the US zoo will have a total of 10 giant pandas.

Ya Ya dan Le Le membantu "proyek penelitian dan konservasi pembijaran" dan menarik pengunjung ke Memphis, untuk "apatkan sedikit rasa budaya bagian cintak Republik China," menurut pernyataan kebun zoo pada Hari Rabu.

Separately, in a statement, the IDA said it was "fun to celebrate this important victory", hoping the move would "encourage all zoos to prioritize animal needs and release them to accredited shelters."