A panda loaned to the US from China has returned to her home country after 20 years.
The 23-year-old panda Ya Ya left Memphis Zoo after the loan agreement expired this month.
On her arrival in Shanghai, social media users speculated about Ya Ya's health and treatment, as she looked bedraggled, missing patches of fur.
US and Chinese officials said she had been treated well and that her appearance was due to a medical condition.
At the start of the loan, she had been accompanied by Le Le, a male panda born in 1998 who died in February.
His death was found to be from a heart condition and his body was returned to China on the same flight as Ya Ya on Thursday.
The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38.
“After 20 years, Ya Ya has become like family, and she will be sorely missed by the Memphis Zoo staff and the local community,” the Tennessee zoo said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We wish her the best of luck in her new home.”
Memphis Zoo held a farewell party for Ya Ya earlier this month. The zoo has said the pandas were key to research and conservation projects and helped people experience some of Chinese culture.
A video of the elderly panda in quarantine in Shanghai, where she will stay for 30 days before returning to Beijing Zoo, where she was born, was shared online. It show the panda looking less than her best, with missing patches of fur.
Social media users responded with dismay at the footage.
Advocacy groups In Defence of Animals and Panda Voices had previously applauded the return of Ya Ya to China, saying the pandas had been suffering in the zoo setting.
But Memphis Zoo officials said the groups were spreading false information. Zoo president and chief executive Matt Thompson said Le Le and Ya Ya had been “two of the most spoiled animals on the planet”.
She began developing bald spots in 2006 and the shedding got worse in 2014, the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens said.
Its experts and those at Memphis Zoo had tried a variety of treatments, it added.
“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,” Memphis Zoo said.
The Chinese government also sought to reassure those concerned.
“During the giant pandas’ stay at the Memphis Zoo, they received good care from the zoo and great affection from the American people,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.
Pandas are commonly used as a diplomacy tool. Most recently, Suhail and Soraya were sent to Qatar ahead of Fifa World Cup 2022.
Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity have saved the giant panda from extinction.
Its population has increased from fewer than 1,000 to more than 1,800 in the wild and almost 700 in captivity.
In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature removed the panda animal from its endangered species list and re-classified it as “vulnerable”.
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Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight (Wednesday), BeIN Sports
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
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- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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The specs: 2019 BMW X4
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Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
