All 4 Pandas At West Japan Zoo Depart For China, Leaves 2 In Country

WAKAYAMA (Japan), June 28 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator.

Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February.

About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony.

"It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China," said Chisato Noda from Nagoya.

"I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I'll plan a trip," said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo.

The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel.

Chinese government spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that China and Japan have established "sound cooperation ties" through panda conservation and research.

"We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species," he told a press conference in Beijing.

The Wakayama Prefecture zoo began a joint breeding programme with the Chinese panda research base in 1994. It has successfully raised 17 cubs, the most outside China.

"The breeding project is finished for now, but we are willing to prepare to accept new pandas in future," the zoo's director Koji Imazu said.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO