Official Update on Scotland's Giant Panda Project
Edinburgh Zoo launched an official update on their panda project:
Despite recent press reports and unfounded speculation that Edinburgh Zoo’s Giant Panda Project is in any sort of jeopardy, the Board of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland would like to confirm that it is very much business as usual on plans to bring a pair of breeding pandas to Edinburgh Zoo later this year.
The agreement to bring the pandas to Edinburgh was signed at the highest level by the RZSS and our priority is to ensure that everything is in place for their arrival. Our teams of highly qualified and committed keepers, conservation and operational staff are fully advanced in developing all aspects of the project. The new enclosure is well underway and our research collaboration with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association is agreed. We will be welcoming a delegation from China, possibly in May, when we will be showing them the enclosure and finalising details for the pandas’ transportation and acclimatisation at Edinburgh Zoo. Around the same time, a team from Edinburgh Zoo will be going back out to China to continue the process of learning more about panda behaviour and care from the experts at the Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an where Tian Tian and Yang Guang are now being cared for.
The Giant Panda Project is important not just for Edinburgh Zoo, but for Scotland and, indeed, the UK. Recent internal issues at the Zoo have no bearing on the operational aspects of the Giant Panda project. Edinburgh Zoo remains committed to delivering the world-class collaboration that we have agreed with China and we will continue to liaise closely with the Chinese authorities at every level.
Source: Edinburgh Zoo
