Two pandas are heading back to China eight years early amid lower-than-hoped-for visitor numbers at a zoo in rural Finland, and after the pair didn’t produce a cub.

Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.

Japan's beloved elderly giant pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri were safely returned to China on Sunday, Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Garden reported on its website.

Shin Shin and Ri Ri's twins, born in June 2021, will remain in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens. Read more at straitstimes.com.

TOKYO: Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo on Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a

There were emotional scenes at Tokyo’s Ueno zoo, where visitors flocked for the last public viewing of giant pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin on Saturday, before they are sent back to China. The ageing bears are being returned to their native land to continue treatment for high blood pressure.