Zoo Atlanta’s beloved pandas are returning to China soon

Since November, Zoo Atlanta has been home to the only giant pandas in the entire United States, which benefit from a partnership program with China. Atlanta’s beloved gentle black and white giants have been a huge success at the zoo! They attract guests from all over the Southeast to see them! Unfortunately, by the end of 2024, Zoo Atlanta will return our pandas to China as the partnership with a Chinese breeding program comes to an end.

Panda news in the United States

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the San Diego Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington DC will both receive two new giant pandas by the end of the year to continue their breeding programs.

These zoo breeding efforts brought the giant panda back from the brink of extinction and continue to help the species. According to the World Population Review, there are now 1,864 giant pandas on the planet.

Giant pandas at Zoo Atlanta

Atlanta’s giant pandas, Lun Lun, Yang Yang, and their offspring, Xi Lun and Ya Lun, have been fan favorites at Zoo Atlanta for some time now. The partnership always required that the offspring return to China after reaching maturity. So the news isn’t shocking for little Xi Lun and Ya Lan, but we will be sad to see their parents leave.

Let’s hope this isn’t the last of Zoo Atlanta’s giant pandas!

So go ahead and plan your trip to see these gentle giants in Atlanta before it’s too late! And if you can’t make it to the zoo in person, be sure to check out the Panda Cam, a live stream that offers a peek inside the panda enclosure!

Learn more about Zoo Atlanta here! And find out how to spend the night at the zoo here!