Is YaYa back to China?


Is YaYa back to China? Hundreds of thousands of people around the world joined us and Panda Voices in calling on the Memphis Zoo to send its neglected giant pandas Yaya and LeLe back to China, and while LeLe tragically passed away before getting the chance, we're thrilled to report that YaYa is now thriving in her homeland.


Does China own pandas that are born in the US?

Despite her American credentials, Bao Bao is the property of the Chinese government — as are her parents and all other giant pandas in zoos around the world. And if, a few years from now, the US does something that displeases the Chinese government, Bao Bao's parents and her younger brother Bei Bei could be taken away.


How is Yaya the panda doing now?

YaYa languished before at the Memphis Zoo and now is much happier in China. A chubby, active, and happy YaYa is now seen playing in the yard of Beijing Zoo. It is noticeable that she has gained weight and her fur condition appears to have greatly improved.


How much does US pay China for pandas?

China began to offer pandas to other nations only on ten-year lease. The standard lease terms include a fee of up to US$1 million per year and a provision that any cubs born during the lease period be the property of the People's Republic of China.


What is the controversy with Ya Ya Panda?

Ya Ya was born in the Beijing Zoo in 2000 and was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in the United States under a 10-year agreement, which ended this April. During her stay in the US, Ya Ya and Le Le, the Memphis Zoo's male panda, were in poor health, which led to accusations that the US was not taking proper care of them.


Will the baby panda go back to China?

The pandas return to China when they reach old age and any cubs born are sent to China around age 3 or 4. The San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year.


How old is Yaya the panda?

Giant panda Ya Ya celebrates 23rd birthday at Beijing Zoo - YouTube.


Are all US pandas going back to China?

The pandas return to China when they reach old age and any cubs born are sent to China around age 3 or 4. The San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year.


Do US zoos rent pandas from China?

American zoos do not actually own the pandas that we enjoy going to visit. China rents pandas out to the tune of $1 million a year. Zoos typically sign a 10-year contract, which means that at the end of that contract, a zoo will have spent $10 million renting one panda. And any cubs that are born while at the zoo?


Why do panda nannies wear masks?

There, keepers wear panda costumes sprayed with panda urine and feces to mask their human scent. “It looks so funny on the surface, but it's serious work, too,” Vitale said. The idea is to limit the bears' familiarity with humans as much as possible so that they can be conditioned to survive in the wild.


Who is the only panda not owned by China?

Mexico's last giant panda, Xin Xin, lounges in her habitat at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. Xin Xin is the granddaughter of two pandas given to Mexico as a gift in 1975. Today, she's the only panda in Latin America and among the last in the world that doesn't belong to China.