TOKYO (AP) — 1000’s of Japanese followers bid tearful farewell to their beloved panda couple that made their remaining public look at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Saturday earlier than returning to China for medical therapy.
The pair, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, are the mother and father of Xiang Xiang, the park-born idol that had returned residence final 12 months.
Greater than 2,000 guests, many sporting T-shirts and carrying gadgets embellished by panda motifs, queued exterior the zoo hours earlier than the opening. Some stated they camped out in a single day to safe their probability.
Guests wait to see the enormous pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than their return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
The pandas, each 19 years previous, arrived on the Ueno Zoo in 2011. Though their lease is sweet via 2026, Japan and China agreed to their return residence because the growing older couple want therapy for hypertension, in keeping with the zoo.
Hirono Sasaki, who waited to enter the zoo since 5 a.m., was crying. “They had been at all times my supply of consolation, so I’m really feel extraordinarily unhappy,” she stated. “I beloved seeing Ri Ri climbing bushes in her previous enclosure. I hope she will climb bushes once more when she is again in China.”
After their hours lengthy wait, guests got only some minutes inside their hut to view the black-and-white animals. Fortunate ones might get a glimpse of them nibbling on bamboo branches, however others might solely catch them throughout their naps.
China sends pandas overseas as an indication of goodwill however maintains possession over the animals and any cubs they produce. The animals are native to southwestern China and are an unofficial nationwide mascot.
Pandas, which reproduce not often within the wild and depend on a food plan of bamboo, stay among the many world’s most threatened species. An estimated 1,800 pandas dwell within the wild, whereas one other 500 are in zoos or reserves, largely in Sichuan.
Guests react after visiting the enormous pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than their return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
Guests watch the enormous panda Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than large panda couple Ri Ri and Shin Shin’s return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
Guests queue to see the enormous pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than their return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
Guests react after seeing the enormous pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than their return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
Guests watch the enormous panda Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than large panda couple Ri Ri and Shin Shin’s return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
One in all guests reacts after seeing the enormous pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo, a day earlier than their return to China, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko)
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Related Press author Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.
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The story corrects the identify of one of many pandas to Shin Shin.
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