From the Memphis Zoo Press Release: On Wednesday, April 26th, giant panda Ya Ya began her journey back to China. Ya Ya is accompanied by Memphis Zoo's senior veterinarian and Chief Zoological Officer – together they possess over 25 years of giant panda experience. Our veterinarian will manage any medical concerns or needs, while our Chief Zoological Officer will manage all husbandry needs while en route. Memphis Zoo's panda loan agreement ended this spring and Ya Ya is returning to China to live out her golden years. After 20 years, Ya Ya has become like family, and she will be sorely missed by the Memphis Zoo staff and the local community. We wish her the best of luck in her new home. ~ The Memphis Zoo

I dug through my archive to rekindle some of the memories from when my colleague, Wayne Risher and I went along to China to document the zoo officials bringing back the Giant Pandas, Ya Ya and Le Le to the Memphis Zoo.

It was a big deal for Memphis!

Below is a photo gallery from China in 2003. See where they lived and how officials prepared the pandas to fly on a FedEx plane to Memphis.

Here is another photo gallery of daily life around Beijing and Shanghai.

Here is a gallery with more current photos of the pandas and also YaYa’s recent going away party at the Memphis Zoo and the panda exhibit.

Here are some links to the coverage of Ya Ya’s return, including this one that speaks to the politics of pandas by CNN.

https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/04/28/china-welcomes-ya-ya-panda-home-after-20-years-abroad/

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/26/china/china-us-ya-ya-panda-diplomacy-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/panda-yaya-china-memphis-zoo-diplomacy-washington-beijing-geopolitics-rcna81566

https://dailymemphian.com/section/metrocity-of-memphis/article/35795/ya-ya-memphis-zoo-giant-pandas-return-to-china

Here is a link to my prior blog post that includes links to videos of the Pandas-

https://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/2022/12/21/giant-pandas-leaving-memphis-zoo