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Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

author:Ah Sheng's exclusive interpretation

Recently, the Memphis Zoo in the United States released a "beautiful photo" of the Chinese panda Yaya, whose thin cheeks, dull eyes and listless demeanor made Chinese netizens cry out distressed: The pandas who host other families are all white and fat, how can Memphis' Yaya be as thin as a "ghost"? Subsequently, some netizens picked up more "big-headed doll photos" of Yaya.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

"Yaya" at the Memphis Zoo in the United States

Surprised? This is China's national treasure panda, judging from the photos, it is not an exaggeration to describe Yaya beyond recognition, in fact, Yaya has not been a day or two, it has been going on for a long time.

What exactly did Yaya go through?

On August 3, 2000, Yaya was born in Beijing Zoo, and in April 2003, according to the application of the United States, China agreed to rent two pandas from each other, so Yaya and another panda named Lele went to the Memphis Zoo to officially start a life in a foreign country.

According to the 10-year lease contract signed between China and the United States, Yaya should return to China in April 2013, during which time Yaya brought enough popularity and income to the Memphis Zoo, and made a lot of money, after the expiration of the contract, the park requested a ten-year extension and obtained the consent of the Chinese side, which is the second decade, Yaya has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Yaya before and after comparison

In 2020, a netizen released a video of Yaya on Chinese social platforms, with dirty hair, skinny, and a state of weakness that was similar to her previous cute appearance. For this reason, many netizens questioned whether Yaya was abused by the Memphis Zoo? Later, after the China Zoo Association asked the United States, the explanation given by the other party was: the 20-year-old Yaya has entered the old age, because the teeth are not very good, so it is more difficult to eat, and the poor hair is because of congenital skin diseases. The park also denied abusing Yaya, saying that food was supplied in sufficient quantities every day.

The explanation of the Memphis Zoo did not dispel the concerns of the majority of netizens, and some caring people spontaneously formed the "Panda Yaya Chao Talk" to pay close attention to Yaya's dynamics. In the United States, an enthusiastic netizen named Pandavoicesorg watches the official live video of the Memphis Zoo every day and notifies the park's CEO Matt of the problem or suspicion found. Thompson, unfortunately, there was no reply.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Netizen Pandavoicesorg questioned Yaya for not having enough food

Pandavoicesorg's questioning has four points: first, Yaya does not get enough food, and judging from the surveillance video, Yaya often begs for a long time, proving that it is hungry; Second, there are problems with the food provided by the garden, such as the bamboo is too dry and hard and too thick, and Yaya's teeth cannot be chewed at all, so why not provide complementary foods such as fruits and biscuits? Third, the hygiene situation of Yaya's living area is worrying, and the staff fails to clean it in time, which has great health risks; Fourth, Yaya has suffered from skin diseases for a long time, is it given timely treatment?

In response to the growing doubts from netizens, the director of the Memphis Zoo claimed in an interview with the media: We have a first-class veterinary team, I believe in my team, we will do every step of the way to ensure that it does not have any health problems, it is in good condition, we are very happy.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Memphis Zoo staff speak to the media

On November 24, 2022, a former staff member of the Memphis Zoo replied to Chinese Love netizens: "I just want to say that the zoo is not abusing them, and the zoo is trying its best to take care of them." The staff member believes that there are not many locally grown bamboo in the United States, and now there is no bamboo that pandas like this season, and all food is oversupply, but Yaya and Lele are too old, which affects their eating, Yaya still has skin diseases, I really don't know what else the zoo can do?

So, did the park lie in the end? Unknown. However, netizens found irregularities from the surveillance video, such as the bamboo fed to Yaya is not what the garden calls "golden bamboo", because the authentic golden bamboo should be that the bamboo pole is yellow, the bamboo leaves are green, and the "golden bamboo" in the picture is green bamboo pole yellow leaves, which seems to be caused by the drying of bamboo leaves, at the same time, the bamboo pole looks very rough and hard, and it has not been artificially cut, how can Yaya gnaw it? In addition, for the Memphis Zoo's claim that Yaya does not like to eat apples, netizens did not buy it, and took out a video of Yaya eating apples to refute it.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Comparison of bamboo provided by the domestic zoo and the Memphis zoo

According to the current information, it is not enough to judge that the Memphis Zoo deliberately "abuses" Yaya, but there is little objection to poor care, from the time node, 2020 is the period of the beginning of the new crown, affected by the epidemic, the park's passenger flow and income have dropped significantly, Yaya's living standards will inevitably be greatly affected, from the feedback of tourists, not only the panda house, almost all animal houses are dirty, the animals are not only thin, but also a sick look.

One tourist who drove to the Memphis Zoo to see the pandas said angrily: "Very disappointed. We drove 3 hours to the zoo and it cost 5 people a total of $75. The zoo is messy, every pavilion is dirty, the panda pavilion is full of feces, the water is dirty green, poor animals. We were left with a bad experience and wouldn't come back, it was so disgusting. “

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

American netizens spit on the Memphis Zoo

Also a national treasure, unlike Yaya and Lele, Chinese pandas on loan to other countries are much happier.

On July 31, 2022, Moscow Zoo hosted a birthday party for giant pandas "Ruyi" and "Tintin" from China, which is the second birthday of "Ruyi" and "Tintin" since they stayed in Moscow on April 29, 2019. Svetlana Akulova, director of the Moscow Zoo, said that July 30 and 31 are the birthdays of "Tintin" and "Ruyi", respectively, and they will celebrate their birthdays together, and the keepers have prepared two bamboo cakes with berries and fruits hidden in them, the cakes will be decorated with flowers, and the "little birthday stars" will receive new toys as gifts, and even theatrical performances.

Russia is both affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the epidemic, but did not make "Ruyi" and "Tintin" suffer at all, the panda pavilion in the Moscow Zoo is not only installed with a humidity control system, but also a swimming pool and sports ground, and regularly performs cultural programs for pandas, more exaggeratedly, in order to make "Ruyi" and "Tintin" have a good appetite, Russia specially airlifted fresh bamboo and bamboo shoots from Sichuan, and then built a local bamboo plantation in case of emergency. Under the careful care of the Moscow Zoo, "Ruyi" and "Tintin" gained about 20 kilograms in just one year.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

"Tintin" at the Russian zoo

Compared with Russia, the Netherlands has gone through hardships to welcome the arrival of Chinese pandas, the country applied to China for 16 years, and only officially approved it in 2015, signing a 15-year cooperation agreement with China, and the Netherlands from the president to the people cheered.

In order to make Wu Wen and Xingya feel at home, the Netherlands spent 7 million euros to build an extremely luxurious "Panda Hall", the entire venue covers an area of 9,000 square meters, with reference to the design of the Forbidden City, the glazed tiles used and the Forbidden City are the same manufacturer, the wooden structure of the palace is designed and assembled in China, and then disassembled and transported to the Netherlands, even the green bricks and construction teams are also transported from China.

In 2017, the much-anticipated Wu Wen and Xingya arrived in the Netherlands, the Dutch greeted them with a lineup of state guests, dozens of police cars opened the way for the special plane, and prepared more than 20 kinds of bamboo for Xingya and Wu Wen to choose.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Dutch Panda House

When will poor Yaya return to her hometown?

According to the Sino-US lease agreement, Yaya and Lele will return to China in April 2023, and just when many netizens are eagerly awaiting, worrying variables have reappeared. On February 1 last year, Republican Nancy May of South Carolina claimed in a statement that "American-born pandas should stay in the United States." To that end, Nancy Mays has launched a proposal in Congress to prevent American-born pandas from being returned to China, which she called a message to China that pandas should not be used as "window displays."

Now, as the expiration date of Yaya's contract draws closer, netizens are so anxious that they have posted a petition on the Memphis Zoo's official website urging the park to be returned to China as scheduled in accordance with the contract, and the petition reads: Since 2003, giant pandas YaYa and LeLe have been kept at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, and over time, many questions have been raised about their care, health and well-being. Several animal rights groups have expressed concern about the problems experienced by giant pandas, including famed singer Billie Eilish.

Tens of thousands of people petitioned for national treasures to go home, what happened to the pandas in the United States?

Petition from the Memphis Zoo website

At present, the petition has been supported by more than 15,747 netizens, and I hope that in April next year, Yaya and Lele, who are far away, will return to the embrace of the motherland as scheduled.

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