From Memphis, panda Ya Ya heads home, alas alone

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Hundreds of visitors at the Memphis Zoo bid farewell on Saturday to the giant panda Ya Ya during a party before her departure back to China.

Highlighted by Chinese cultural performances, the send-off marked the end of a 20-year loan agreement with the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, or CAZG, that landed Ya Ya in Memphis. About 500 people attended the event, which featured a demonstration by students from the Tennessee Happy Kung Fu School.

"If you can't make it to the party, there's still time," the Memphis Zoo wrote in an Instagram post earlier last week. "Ya Ya will be here until the end of the month."

"I am so sad to see Ya Ya go. I knew it would happen eventually, but one is never prepared for such eventualities," an online comment said. "Goodbye sweet princess."

Ya Ya came to the Memphis Zoo in 2003 with the male giant panda Le Le under a partnership between the zoo, located in Midtown, Memphis, and the CAZG.

The Memphis Zoo announced in December that the giant panda loan agreement with the CAZG would end this year.

Unfortunately, Le Le died in February. The death was caused by heart disease, an autopsy found.

A memorial for Le Le was on display at the zoo on Saturday.

The Memphis Zoo previously responded to some concerns surrounding Ya Ya, which was born in China on Aug 3, 2000.

"Regarding her stature, people have noted that she is a very small bear," the Memphis Zoo said in a statement in February, saying that "phenotypically speaking, this does not stem from her nutrition, but her familial genetics".

"Ya Ya also lives with a chronic skin and fur condition which is inherently related to her immune system and directly impacted by hormonal fluctuations," it said.

"This condition does not affect her quality of life but does occasionally make her hair look thin and patchy," it continued. "The condition is closely monitored by our animal care team and veterinary staff."

The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived up to 38.

Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.

Xinhua - Agencies