TOKYO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) — Female large panda Xiang Xiang on Tuesday morning left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to fly again to China, her residence nation.
Around 7:10 a.m. native time, a white truck carrying the five-year-old panda slowly drove out of Ueno Zoological Gardens, earlier than heading to Narita International Airport.
The panda will take a flight from the airport at 12:45 p.m. native time, and is predicted to reach at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 5:25 p.m. Beijing time, mentioned the zoo.
Upon her return, Xiang Xiang will probably be despatched to Bifengxia Giant Panda Base, an enormous panda analysis and breeding facility within the metropolis of Ya’an, Sichuan, which is named the hometown of large pandas, based on the zoo.
Xiang Xiang was born at Ueno Zoo in June 2017 to Shin Shin (feminine) and Ri Ri (male), two large pandas on mortgage from China, the place the possession over the cubs they provide beginning to belongs.
As the primary panda naturally bred and raised on the zoo in practically three many years since You You, born in 1988, Xiang Xiang gained big recognition amongst Japanese individuals after she was born.
She was initially scheduled to journey again to China by the tip of December 2020, however her return was postponed a number of occasions attributable to her recognition in Japan and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now 5 years and eight months previous, the panda has reached her breeding maturity.
“Considering the future of Xiang Xiang and the giant pandas as a species, it would be amazing if it found a good mate and breed in China,” Yutaka Fukuda, director of Ueno Zoo, instructed Xinhua.