Edinburgh Zoo pandas to return to China in December 2023

Tian Tian means Sweetie in Mandarin

Two pandas living at Edinburgh Zoo will be returning to China in December.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian have lived at Edinburgh Zoo since 2011 and are the only giant pandas currently living in the UK.

Keepers at the zoo had hoped that the pandas would mate but after there were no baby pandas, they gave up.

The pandas were loaned to the zoo by the Chinese government, as part of their panda diplomacy scheme, and will return to the country later this year.

What is panda diplomacy?

Pandas are native to China where they're seen as a national treasure.

All living pandas, wherever they might be, belong to the Chinese state, and no one else other than the Chinese government is allowed to own one.

Panda diplomacy describes how the Chinese authorities let some governments borrow pandas as a mark of respect between their countries.

Having a panda can really boost the status of a zoo, as Edinburgh Zoo saw since Tian Tian arrived in 2011.

There aren't many zoos in the world that get to keep pandas - this is because it is up to China to decide which countries get them.

Each zoo also has to pass strict tests to be allowed a panda, and it also costs a lot of money.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian reportedly cost around £750,000 a year to loan.

As well as paying the Chinese government to loan the pandas, feeding and caring for them is very expensive too.

Yang Guang means Sunshine in Mandarin

Alison Maclean, the carnivore team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We are making arrangements with our partners in China for Yang Guang and Tian Tian to return in early December, possibly during the first week.

"Visitors to the zoo can expect to see them indoors and outside until the end of November, after which viewing will be outdoors only until they leave.

"Having cared for Yang Guang and Tian Tian since they arrived in 2011, I will be travelling back to China with them, to help them settle into their new homes." she said.

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