2 Pandas at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to Head Back to China; Symptoms of High Blood Pressure Cited as Reason for Return

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:36 JST, August 30, 2024

Arrangements are underway for two giant pandas at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens to be returned to China due to health concerns as early as next month, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

According to Tokyo metropolitan government officials, Ri Ri, a male, and Shin Shin, a female, began showing symptoms of high blood pressure last autumn and have been on medication since.

After consulting with experts in China, which has ownership of the pair, the metropolitan government has concluded that the pandas, both 19, need to be treated at a specialized facility in China.

A panda’s age, when multiplied by three, is said to be equivalent to that of a human.

Both pandas were born in China’s Sichuan Province. They arrived at Ueno Zoological Gardens — commonly known as Ueno Zoo — on loan from China in February 2011 for breeding and research purposes.

With the pair departing, the only pandas at Ueno Zoo will be their 3-year-old twins — Xiao Xiao, a male, and Lei Lei, a female.