Belgian animal park Pairi Daiza announced on Wednesday that three of its five pandas will return to China on December 10, as part of an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Tian Bao, born in 2016, and twins Bao Di and Bao Mei, born in 2019, will go back to the Giant Panda Base in Bifengxia, a research and breeding center for giant pandas located in the city of Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Giant pandas Bao Di and Bao Mei at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, August 16, 2023. /CFP
The pandas will continue their regular routines at Pairi Daiza until November 11, after which they will enter quarantine in preparation for their journey, the park said in a statement.
"The preparations for the departure of these precious animals are already in full swing," said the Pairi Daiza, adding that it is doing everything possible to ensure the pandas could depart under the best conditions.
The parents of the three pandas, Hao Hao and Xing Hui, will remain at the park, it said.
The panda loan agreement, signed in 2013, allowed the pair to stay in Belgium for 15 years. Under the terms, their offspring must be returned to China at the age of four to join breeding and conservation efforts.
(Cover: Giant pandas Bao Di and Bao Mei celebrate their second anniversary at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, August 8, 2021. /CFP)