Leaving Belgium's panda 'paradise' for a grown-up life abroad

Members of the Belgian public have said their final goodbyes to three pandas who are set to be relocated to China. Thousands of people passed by the panda enclosure at the Pairi Daiza zoo on Sunday to take photos and bid farewell before the pandas go into quarantine. 

It's 10 years since Pairi Daiza – named after the Persian for walled enclosure, from which we get the English word 'paradise' – welcomed two new pandas, Hao Hao and Xing Hui. In 2016 Hao Hao gave birth to Tian Bao, followed three years later by twins Bao Di and Bao Mei. 

To mark their departure, the zoo held its final public feeding for the pandas – and erected a message board by the panda enclosure so spectators could write a farewell message. 

"It's with great emotion, that's why I'm here today. I was here on the first day Tian Bao was shown to the public," said one woman. 

Pairi Daiza opened its doors to the public back in 1993 and is now home to about 7,500 animals including giant pandas, elephants, orangutans and gorillas. 

Hao Hao and Xing Hui are on a 15-year loan, on the understanding that any offspring would be sent to China after four years. Tian Bao is now eight years old but his move to China, originally scheduled for 2020, was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Now that travel restrictions have been lifted, he, along with the twins, are finally able to travel.

"Tian Bao's not just a little boy, he's a man," said Pairi Daiza panda carer Yang Liu. "He needs to have another life, he needs to have a girlfriend, he needs a breeding family – so this is why we can't keep Tian Bao."

The three pandas will now be hidden from view at the zoo and are expected to be in quarantine for roughly a month before being flown to their new home at a giant panda base in Sichuan Province. 

Yang Liu said the three offspring would be kept "Very safe in these 30 days. No getting an infection, no getting sick, no getting a cold. After that they get a health document and a pass to go on the plane."

Parents Hao Hao and Xing Hui will remain in Belgium and are slated to stay for another five years. They are part of a breeding program and officials at the zoo say that is expected to accelerate once their children have safely been transported to China. 

While the focus currently is on saying goodbye to Tian Bao, Bao Di and Bao Mei, the hope is that it won't be too long before the zoo will be introducing some new furry faces to the Belgian public.