Three of the five giant pandas that currently reside at the Pairi Daiza Animal Park in Hainaut Province are to return to China this autumn. The park made the announcement that three pandas will be returned on social media.
Pairi Daiza’s Claire Gilissen says that “We are still waiting for an official date for their return. But it will be in early autumn”. The three pandas that are set to leave for China were all born at Pairi Daiza. Under a convention between the animal park and the Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) any pandas born at Pairi Daiza must at some point be sent to China. The three panda that will leave Belgium in the autumn are Tian Bao, who was born on 2 June 2016, and the panda twins Bao Di and Bao Mei, who were born on 8 August 2019.
"Between now and their departure, there is still time to see the pandas here at the animal park. We will also celebrate Tian Bao's 8th birthday and Bao Di and Bao Mei's 5th birthdays with a several events planned for both days," Ms Gilissen added.
Under the convention the young pandas were supposed to have return to China on 4th birthday. However, the coronavirus pandemic meant that shipments of animal to and from China were suspended. Pairi Daiza was only recently informed of a request to return the animals.
The pandas Xing Hui and Hao Hao arrived in 2014 and became parents to Tian Bao in 2016. Bao Di and Bao Mei followed three years later. The two giant pandas were loaned by China as part of a programme to save the species. The two will remain in Belgium for at least five more years as part of the breeding programme.