Did you know that you can’t legally own a panda? Not only you, but anyone in the world can’t just buy a panda.
Pandas are considered a national treasure of China. As such, they are legally the Chinese government’s pets. So all the pandas all over the world are still China’s pandas.
That’s what happened to Ya Ya, a panda that was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. She stayed there for 20 years, but on April 27, she finally made her way back home to China.
Ya Ya had a male panda companion named Le Le who unfortunately died in February in the Memphis Zoo. So the officials decided it was finally time for Ya Ya herself to come home. This decision coincided with the end of the 20-year loan term the zoo had with the Chinese government.
In early April, the zoo staff held a goodbye party for her. Staff said they would miss Ya Ya but hopes that she lives out the rest of her life happy in her homeland.
Pandas in the wild have a life expectancy of only 15 years but because Ya Ya lived in a zoo, her life expectancy is extended to about 38 years. She has more than a decade to reconnect with her roots and her Chinese fans who gushed over videos taken of her arrival back in China.