Why a zoo in Finland is returning two giant pandas to China

Ahtari Zoo sending panda pair back eight years ahead of schedule

A zoo in Finland is returning a pair of giant pandas to China as financial hardship and rising inflation are making it difficult to keep them.

Lumi and Pyry are leaving Finland about eight years ahead of schedule. The pandas arrived in the Scandinavian country in January 2018 under an agreement with the Chinese government following a state visit by president Xi Jinping and were supposed to remain for 15 years.

Pyry is a male panda originally named Hua Bao and Lumi is a female called Jin Bao Bao back in China.

The Ahtari Zoo hoped the pandas would attract more visitors to its central location but that has not happened. As a result, the zoo has accumulated significant debt since the Covid pandemic.

Risto Sivonen, chair of the private company operating the zoo, said they invested over €8m (£6m) in the facility to house the animals and run an annual bill of €1.5m (£1.2m) for their upkeep, including a preservation fee paid to China.

The pandas arrive at the Helsinki airport in Vantaa, Finland on January 18, 2018 (AFP via Getty Images)

The zoo has faced increasing financial hardship in recent years, in large part because of the pandemic, reduced tourist footfall, and soaring inflation and rising interest rates due to the war in Ukraine.

An ice sculpture features pandas during a carnival organised to welcome the two giant pandas from China to Finland on 18 January 2018 (AFP via Getty Images)

The zoo asked for a €5m (£4.2m) grant from the Finnish government but the application was declined.

The iconic pandas are native to China and are classified as vulnerable.

China has used pandas as part of its efforts to improve relations with foreign countries, a practice known as "panda diplomacy”. The animals are sent abroad to serve as a symbol of friendship between China and those countries.