Giant pandas born in Belgium set to leave for China
Three giant pandas born at Pairi Daiza will leave for China on 10 December, the animal park has confirmed.
Visitors will not be able to see the animals after 11 November, as they have to undergo a quarantine period before travelling. Parents Hao Hao and Xing Hui will remain in the park in Brugelette, Hainaut, for several more years.
Tian Bao was born at Pairi Daiza in 2016, followed by twins Bao Di and Bao Mei in 2019. The three pandas will be moved to the Giant Panda Base in Bifengxia, a research and breeding centre in Sichuan province, in December.
"All baby pandas born abroad return to China. And we had the largest number of giant pandas outside China, with five," Pairi Daiza CEO Eric Domb told De Standaard earlier this year.
Hao Hao and Xing Hui arrived in Belgium 10 years ago, as part of a collaboration between the park and China. Pairi Daiza supports the creation of a gigantic nature reserve that has been set up in the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan in China.
The giant panda population has increased from 1,200 living in the wild in the 1980s to almost 1,900 today.
Pandas Bao Di and Bao Mei at Pairi Daiza, August 2021 © BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR
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