Goodbye Fu Bao! South Koreans bid farewell to beloved panda

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Giant panda Fu Bao eats bamboo at the Everland Resort on March 3, 2024. /CFP

Crowds of South Koreans queued up for hours to say goodbye to giant panda Fu Bao on March 3, the last day of public viewing at the Everland Resort, a theme park in the city of Yongin.

Thousands of visitors came to see her, queuing up before sunrise. According to media reports, the last public viewing day saw over 8,000 people visit Everland’s Panda World.

The beloved black-and-white fur ball was presented with two bamboo dolls and a bouquet packed with flowers, bamboo leaves and carrots.

Giant panda Fu Bao holds a bamboo toy at the Everland Resort on March 3, 2024. /CFP

Fu Bao was born in South Korea on July 20, 2020, to mother Hua Ni (Ai Bao) and father Tian Tian (Le Bao) who came to South Korea from China in 2016 on a 15-year lease for a research program.

As the first giant panda born in the country, Fu Bao’s successful natural birth, despite low panda fertility rates, has endeared her to many animal lovers.

Under the conservation agreement, all pandas born outside of China should be returned before the age of four, where they can mate with other pandas.

Next month, Fu Bao will be transferred to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province, after spending a month in quarantine.