25 years of pandas: Prepping for a panda voyage
Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun will soon depart Atlanta for China. Read on to learn about the many preparations and arrangements that go into making sure the pandas travel in executive class comfort!
Prep for the pandas’ travels, including an extensive permitting process, begins long before the trip. The Panda Team is dedicated to ensuring the pandas feel safe and comfortable throughout the flight, which starts with familiarizing them with their travel crates. These specially-designed crates have plenty of space, and the Panda Team works on crate training for many weeks leading up to the departure, ensuring that crates are comfortable and secure spaces for the pandas to eat and rest throughout the flight. The Veterinary Team also performs a number of health tests to ensure the pandas are in excellent health for their trip.
Speaking of the Veterinary Team, trusted members of our Veterinary Team and the Panda Care Team will travel with the pandas for the duration of their flight to make sure the pandas are receiving their usual top-notch care.
Then there are the supplies. The Panda Team packs enough bamboo, leafeater biscuits, fresh produce, and gallons of water to last the journey and then some. There’s no trace of flimsy trays of lukewarm airplane food here- only the best for our world travelers!
We expect that Yang Yang, Lun Lun, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun will be focused on panda business as usual – eating and sleeping – throughout the trip.
While this will be a bittersweet departure, this is far from our first trip around the world. With five Zoo Atlanta-born cubs previously transferred to China, the Panda Team has considerable experience with this process. We can all rest assured that Yang Yang, Lun Lun, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun are in the best possible hands as we prepare to wish them bon voyage.
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