Panda bears - Fans mourn the departure of Pit and Paule to China
The little boy, standing with his parents in front of Pit and Paule's enclosure for the last time, is sad. "I think it's stupid," he replies when asked what he thinks about the twins moving to China. "Because I want to see them more often." He thinks panda bears are cute, especially the paws. Like many other visitors, he and his parents came to Berlin Zoo on Friday especially to say goodbye to Pit and Paule. Despite the low temperatures, the zoo is expecting a bigger crowd than usual this weekend.
This is because the four-year-old panda twins are moving to China in mid-December. The move had been planned for some time, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Like their parents, the bears are the property of China. Their birth on August 31, 2019 at Berlin Zoo was a minor sensation - after all, pandas are considered sexually inactive.
In future, only a plaque will commemorate the popular twin brothers. On Friday, Chinese Ambassador Wu Ken and Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner unveiled the plaque with a photo of the brothers. It reads: "Meng Yuan and Meng Xiang were Germany's first panda cubs." In addition to the nicknames Pit and Paule, the pandas have Chinese names meaning "longed-for dream" and "fulfilled dream".
In China, the black and white bears are sent to the giant panda breeding and research station in Chengdu. They will be quarantined there for at least 30 days, as the cultural department of the Chinese embassy in Germany told the German Press Agency in response to an inquiry. The animals will then be presented to the public at a suitable time.
"It's a great pity," says zoo visitor Florian Gendritzki about the move. He and his wife bought an annual pass for the zoo after Pit and Paule were born and have visited the animals about once a month since then. A trip to Chengdu is on the to-do list. "What I particularly like about them is the calm and serenity they exude and the fact that they are also a bit silly." Martina Brunotte thinks: "They are also a bit boring." After all, the animals spend most of their time eating and sleeping, as the visitor says. Nevertheless, they are "simply cuddly". She herself lived in China for a long time and therefore has a special interest in the animals.
China is not only bringing back pandas from Germany
One zoo visitor has come all the way from Belgium: "I travel all over the world to see pandas," says the man. The Middle Kingdom only allows the bears from its own breeding program to selected countries. This is also known as "panda diplomacy". The animals and their offspring are only loaned out. Critics say that China uses panda bears as a reward for countries with which it signs trade agreements or to countries with which it wants to be on good terms. Last year, for example, the country gave away two bears to Qatar.
The USA recently suffered a setback: The zoo in the capital Washington had to say goodbye to all three pandas in November, which were ordered back to China. There are also no more pandas in the UK. The only two specimens had started their journey home to China at the beginning of December after twelve years at Edinburgh Zoo.
Despite the departure of Pit and Paule, Berlin will not be pandal-less: The parents Meng Meng and Jiao Qing are staying. Many visitors wished on Friday that there would soon be offspring again. The zoo is also hoping for this. Offspring are planned again, the institution recently announced. The mother panda could "theoretically" signal that she is ready to conceive again in spring 2024. If all goes well, the Berlin Zoo could have another panda offspring in the summer.
According to the Chinese embassy, those who want to keep up to date with the welfare of Pit and Paule do not have to take a plane to Chengdu: "The panda base will keep the fan community up to date with all the latest news about the twin brothers from time to time via its official social media channels," it said.
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Source: www.stern.de
