Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is expected to receive a pair of giant pandas from China early next year, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday, unveiling a plan that would mark the return of the popular animals to the country’s oldest zoo three years after the death of its last panda.
Ishihara said the Chinese side has agreed in principle to lease two pandas for $950,000 a year, money that Tokyo expects to be used for the preservation of wild animals in China. The zoo has been without a panda since the death in April 2008 of Ling Ling, its only giant panda at the time.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.