Giant Pandas in Europe

Well I guess we'll see. But Ahtari simply can't afford the rent, and no-one could think that they could, so there must be more to ii than that.
 
beccasunbear said:
I thought all pandas had to be rented?
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They *have* been given as official diplomatic gifts in the past, but this has not occurred in about 40 years to the best of my knowledge. The last surviving "gift" was Bao-Bao at Zoo Berlin, who died in 2012 at the age of 34.

However, there are still two Giant Panda in captivity not owned by China, due to their having been the progeny of "gift" animals - two females at Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico called Xin-Xin and Shuan-Shuan, both now post-reproductive.
 
Interesting! I had always thought that ‘gifted’ had literally only meant that permission to hold them had been ‘gifted’, with the rent on them still payable! I had also been under the impression that all captive pandas were property of China. Thanks for the info!
 
That is pretty interesting! I wonder if there is similar information available for any other zoos holding pandas.
 
Is it really a million dollars to rent a panda? I have seen this quoted in a number of places but an article I read in the Financial Times recently quoted a million dollars as being the rent on a pair of pandas.
 
It does depend on the zoo and its location - and of course the exchange rate - but generally, yes, around that figure.
 
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beccasunbear said:
It does depend on the zoo and its location - and of course the exchange rate - but generally, yes, around that figure.
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I wasn't questioning the figure, but if it referred to one panda as mentioned all over the place, or for two pandas as quoted in the Financial Times article. :)
 
FunkyGibbon said:
If you look the vocabulary of when Denmark made something of a diplomatic push to get pandas, it was stated quite clearly they had been given the right to host the pandas, whereas here the pandas themselves are the gifts. I think it would be quite embarrassing, for China, if Finland turns out to be paying rent on them. But I grant that it's still not something known.
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On the Ähtäri Zoo website it explains how the 'compensation' paid to China is spent; 70% to conservation of pandas in the wild, 10% research and 10% to management. So it would seem that Ähtäri are paying a fee of some sort for hosting the pandas.
 
Welsh Zootographer said:
On the Ähtäri Zoo website it explains how the 'compensation' paid to China is spent; 70% to conservation of pandas in the wild, 10% research and 10% to management. So it would seem that Ähtäri are paying a fee of some sort for hosting the pandas.
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Well it looks like I'll be eating my hat on this one.
 
It's a hat that's heavily coated in figs. Known in the buisness as a figurative hat. It shares the same unpleasant aftertaste as humble pie.
 
If it tastes so good, why are people so reluctant to swallow it down with a swig of pride (poured from the keg of humility)?
 
Some European giant panda news from this year:

- The old pair at Zoo Madrid and their young have moved back to China. Meanwhile, a new pair has arrived in Madrid.

- At Ouwehands Zoo, two giant pandas were born in July. One of the cubs did not make it but the other one is doing well.

- Giant panda female Meng Meng at Zoo Berlin is pregnant.
 
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