A Zoo In Finland Is Returning Giant Pandas To China Because They’re Too Expensive To Keep

HELSINKI – A Finnish zoo has reached an agreement with Chinese officials to return two borrowed giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of planned, citing rising costs and dwindling visitor numbers.

The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland, located 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Helsinki, announced on its Facebook page that the female panda Lumi, meaning “snow,” and the male panda Pyry, meaning “snowfall,” will return to China “prematurely” later this year.

The panda duo was a gift from China to commemorate the Nordic nation’s 100th anniversary of independence in 2017, and they were scheduled to be on loan until 2033.

A Zoo In Finland Is Returning Giant Pandas To China Because They’re Too Expensive To Keep

However, the zoo has faced a number of obstacles since then, including a decrease in attendance owing to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as an increase in inflation and interest rates, according to a statement from the facility.

The panda deal between Helsinki and Beijing, a 15-year loan arrangement, was finalized in April 2017 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Finland to meet with then-President Sauli Niinistö. Pandas arrived in Finland in January 2018.

The Ähtäri Zoo, which specializes in northern European animals including bears, lynxes, and wolverines, created a special panda annex at a cost of almost 8 million euros ($9 million) in hopes of attracting more people to the secluded nature reserve.

Lumi and Pyry’s upkeep, which includes a preservation fee to China, costs the zoo approximately 1.5 million euros per year. The bamboo that giant pandas consume was flown in from the Netherlands.

The Chinese Embassy in Helsinki informed Finnish media that Beijing attempted to assist Ähtäri in resolving its financial troubles by encouraging Chinese enterprises in Finland to donate to the zoo and support its debt arrangements.

A Zoo In Finland Is Returning Giant Pandas To China Because They’re Too Expensive To Keep

However, dwindling visitor numbers, combined with significant economic changes, were too much of a strain for the little Finnish zoo. In late October, the panda pair will be quarantined for one month before being transferred to China.

Finland, with a population of 5.6 million, was one of the first Western countries to establish formal connections with China, in 1950. China has gifted gigantic pandas to countries as a gesture of goodwill and better political connections, with Finland becoming the first Nordic nation to receive them.

SOURCE | AP