Panda cubs Yi Yi and Sheng Yi will be sent back to China in August

SHAH ALAM - Two panda cubs born in Malaysia, Yi Yi and Sheng Yi are scheduled to be sent back to China after August this year.

Zoo Negara deputy director Rosly@Rahmat Ahmat Lana said the agreement between Malaysia and China states that the pair of cubs loaned to Zoo Negara must be returned to China when they are two years old.

However, he said China has yet to set a date for Yi Yi and Sheng Yi to return.

"We will request for the Chinese government to arrange the cubs to be sent back together and then wait for the exact date of return.

"Sheng Yi's two years stay in Malaysia ends on August 31 and Zoo Negara intends to send him back with Yi Yi, who was born in 2018, to save transportation cost," he said, citing a news portal on Thursday.

It was previously reported that the panda cubs Yi Yi and Sheng Yi both placed in the Giant Panda Conservation Center at Zoo Negara will be sent back directly to Chengdu in mid-May after their return had been delayed several times.

Yi Yi and Sheng Yi are the offsprings of the Giant Panda pair, Fu Wa and Feng Yi who were loaned to the Malaysian Governement in 2014 for 10 years to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

The loan programme made under the International Giant Panda Conservation Cooperation Agreement had given Malaysia the chance to conduct a research on the conservation of Giant Panda, in addition to develop and train local experts.

To date, the Giant Panda pair renamed as Xing Xing and Liang Liang gave birth to three cubs namely Nuan Nuan who was born on August 18, 2015, Yi Yi (Jan 14, 2018) and Sheng Yi born on May 30, 2021.

Nuan Nuan was sent back to China in 2017.

Rosly@Rahmat added it is up to the Malaysian government to decide whether to extend the agreement to house Xing Xing and Liang Liang after 2024.

He said having Xing Xing and Liang Liang is good enough and there was no need to keep the cubs here too.

"Lots of Malaysians visited the zoo recently to see the young pandas before they return to China.

"The number of visitors had increased dramatically over the past few months, despite the hot weather where visitors still insist on seeing the pandas," he said.

When asked if Xing Xing and Liang Liang still have a chance to have a fourth child, he explained that female pandas only go into heat for about 24 to 72 hours a year, usually between March and May.

"But there are no signs of mating that we are aware of," he added.