ATLANTA — Zoo Atlanta’s newest residents are settling into their new home on Monday morning.
Channel 2’s Karyn Greer was the only local reporter inside Zoo Atlanta during Channel 2 Action News This Morning.
The gates at Zoo Atlanta will open up at 9 a.m., but new pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang won’t be ready for public viewing just yet.
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After arriving from China on Sunday morning, the pandas went into a biosecure quarantine period, which will likely last about a month.
After that, the panda exhibit will open for visitors.
“People are excited to meet the new bears. They like watching them grow up, raise a family. It becomes a part of their extended family,” Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said.
Neighbors and families who remember Atlanta’s last pandas, the wait comes with plenty of anticipation.
“We remember taking our kids 20 to 25 years ago to see the pandas. I’m glad that our granddaughter will get to experience this,” Danette Betts said.
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The pandas’ arrival begins a new conservation research agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. It follows a 25-year partnership that ended when Atlanta’s previous pandas returned to China in 2024.
For Atlanta, it means the return of an animal generations of visitors came to see.
Zoo Atlanta has not yet announced a date for Ping Ping and Fu Shuang’s public debut.
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