The Memphis Zoo has dedicated more than six years and $28 million to get giant pandas in the city and now it is much closer to becoming a reality.
Chinese officials announced Friday plans to give the Memphis Zoo a 10-year panda loan pending agreement on minor details. Zoo officials were invited to Beijing to finalize the contract.
The Memphis Zoo will become one of only four zoos in the country with giant pandas. Memphis will receive a 2-year-old female named Ya Ya and a 4-year old male named Le Le.
The pair is expected to arrive by January and zoo officials and supporters estimate the pandas will attract an additional 300,000 visitors to the city each year. Reproduction specialists at the zoo plan to breed the pair. Le Le and Ya Ya’s new home is a three-acre exhibit with a variety of Chinese animals and plants.
There may be as few as 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Habitat loss due to deforestation and hunting are the most dangerous threats to the panda.
U.S. zoos that receive captive pandas have a great responsibility for and critical role in conserving pandas in the wild. These zoos are required to obtain a permit to import endangered species from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and must follow strict guidelines.
Chuck Brady, vice president and director of animal programs at the Memphis Zoo, said the loan became possible with the help of political friends, community business leaders and private donors who provided funding and support along the way.
“China chose Memphis for several reasons,” Brady said.
In addition to the support from political and business leaders, China chose Memphis because the zoo developed an exhibit dedicated to more than just pandas. It also celebratesand helps to educate Americans about Chinese culture. China will also use the loan to help generate funding for wildlife conservation there.
“Pandas are a flagship species, which means by saving the panda habitat, you save all the other species within that habitat,” Brady said. “We’re tryin to save wild places.”
The Conservation and Research proposal made by the Memphis Zoo has three facets. The first is restoration of the giant panda habitat. Brady said the zoo does not just send money to China. Zoo officials make project proposals, budget them and work with U.S. and Chinese forestry officials to exchange ideas and techniques for restoration.
Second, the zoo studies the nutrition of giant pandas to understand why they choose the food they do, and so they will know what they need in their habitat.
Third, they will study reproductive and social behavioral aspects of pandas to further the species. Brady explained the Memphis Zoo is trying to create a unique experience for visitors as they participate in the conservation effort.
Brady said the facilities at the Memphis Zoo have been transformed over the last ten years and he believes it has a bright future.
“We’re trying to build one of the best zoo’s in the world,” Brady said. “We want people from all over America to visit a cultural, educational and interactive zoo who can come many times and have a different experience.”
