Zoo Atlanta welcomes two pandas under 10-year loan
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived from China in September, ending a two-year gap in the zoo's panda program.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
Two giant pandas opened to the public at Zoo Atlanta on Friday.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived from China in September. They are part of a new 10-year loan agreement. This deal restores the presence of giant pandas at the zoo after a two-year absence. The bears spent several weeks adjusting to their new habitat before the public debut. They are now housed in the renovated Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove. The enclosure had been empty since 2024. At that time, four pandas returned to China, ending a partnership that lasted 25 years. The departure occurred during a period of strained relations between the United States and China.
Visitors lined up on Friday to see the animals. Rachel Sutherland, 8, traveled from Sacramento, California. Her family extended their vacation by one day to see the bears. She said she preferred Ping Ping because his name reminded her of the color pink. Xinhua News Agency noted that Ping Ping has dark circles around his eyes. Fu Shuang has a protruding forehead. Both animals were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. They are both 6 years old.
Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., spoke at a news conference on Friday morning. He said the arrival marks the renewal of a decade-long bond between China and Zoo Atlanta. He expressed confidence that the pandas would eat well and grow healthy in their new home. He stated that the animals would bring double the joy to fans. Kevin Wei, 18, is a student at Georgia Tech. He said he was counting down the days until the debut. He felt a strong connection to the animals because they are from his hometown of Chengdu. He described the bond as familiar despite living in the U.S.
China has used pandas as a diplomatic tool for years. The country deploys the bears in loan programs to show goodwill. It lets agreements lapse when tensions arise. Zoo Atlanta is one of three U.S. zoos that currently house the species. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., returned three pandas to China in 2023. It accepted two new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, in October 2024. The San Diego Zoo debuted two pandas in August 2024.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature reclassified giant pandas from endangered to vulnerable a decade ago. This change reflected growing numbers of pandas in the wild in China. Kim Herres, 76, has visited Zoo Atlanta every year since the city first received pandas in 1999. She views the animals as a symbol of global efforts to protect wildlife. She said she is glad the pandas are back. She added that she hopes the U.S. will not anger China to the point of having them retrieved.
