This week a pair of giant Pandas have made the journey from China to Finland, as a gift from China to mark Finland’s 100 years of independence.
The two pandas, Four-year-old male panda Hua Bao and three-year old female Jin Baobao were greeted on Thursday in a ceremony at Helsinki airport which was attended by the Chinese ambassador to Finland and Finnish officials. The pandas have been renamed as Pyry, Snowfall (male) and Limi, Snow (female).
The pandas’ journey started at the Dujiangyan Panda Centre on Wednesday, 17 January. They first went to Chengdu Airport, from where they travelled 6,500 km to Helsinki.
The pandas did not have to make the long trip to Finland alone. With them were Ähtäri Zoo’s panda keeper Anna Palmroth and veterinarian Heini Niinimäki. A Chinese veterinarian and a panda keeper were also on board.
During the visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Finland last April, China and Finland signed an agreement on joint research program. China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has research ties with 15 zoos in 13 countries, and 34 pandas are currently overseas.
Ähtäri Zoo was founded in 1973 and is the oldest natural zoo in Finland. There are presently over 50 species at the zoo, most of which are typical species of coniferous forest zone. International animal conservation work is an important part of Ähtäri Zoo’s operations.
www.ahtarizoo.fi
