TOKYO, April 24 (Xinhua) -- All four giant pandas on loan to a theme park in the western Japanese prefecture of Wakayama will return to China around late June, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement, the park's operator said Thursday.
Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, announced that the 24-year-old Rauhin and her three daughters, 8-year-old Yuihin, 6-year-old Saihin and 4-year-old Fuhin, will leave for their new home at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province.
Adventure World began a breeding cooperation program with the Chinese panda research base in 1994 and was home to Eimei, a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship who came to Japan on loan in 1994. Under the joint conservation project, 17 giant pandas were born in the Wakayama park over three decades.
According to the operator, it has reached an agreement with the Chinese side that as the joint project is set to expire in August, and the two sides decided the four pandas will go to China in June, when temperatures are relatively cool.
"We hope that these four giant pandas can live a healthy and happy life after returning to China, and we also hope that the young ones can take on the mission of breeding new lives," the park said.
The departure of the four giant pandas would mean Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo would be the only remaining giant pandas housed in Japan.
