The new Atlanta Zoo pandas made their debut for a crowd of eager fans. The Ping Ping male panda and the female Fu Shuang arrived in late September at the park, but only now began to appear after a few weeks of adaptation.
© Zoo Atlanta
07/11/2026
by
News to Minutes
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are both six years old and were born in China, at Chengdu Giant Panda Creation Research Base. They arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, due to an investigation agreement on the conservation of the giant panda between the Atlanta Zoo and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association.
Ping Ping, the male, and Fu Shuang, the female, arrived at the end of September at the park, but only now began to appear after a few weeks of adaptation.
On their public debut, which took place this Friday, they ate bamboo and relaxed. On the other side were hundreds of expectant visitors to see them.
Those responsible for the Zoo said that the animal park was completely crowded throughout the day, with hours filled by anxious visitors.
Eight-year-old Rachel Sutherland and her family were visiting the city from Sacramento, California, and extended their vacation for a day to see the pandas. “Looking at these pandas is so amazing that I would say it’s the best thing in my life,” Rachel confessed to Associated Press. She also revealed that she had a preference for Ping Ping because her name reminds her of pink.
On the other hand, 76-year-old Kim Herres said she has been visiting the Atlanta Zoo since the city received its first pandas in 1999. He said he sees them as a symbol that the world is “doing the right thing” to protect animals. “I’m glad we got them back,” he said, adding: “I hope we don’t piss off the Chinese and don’t come for them.”
According to the news agency Xinhua, Ping Ping is what has well-defined dark circles, while Fu Shuang has the most prominent forehead. It is recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the new pandas in September during a diplomatic visit to the United States.
The panda enclosure at the Atlanta Zoo was empty since 2024, after four other pandas returned from the United States to China, ending a 25-year partnership due to tense relations between the two countries.
China has long used pandas as part of its global diplomacy, lends bears as a form of goodwill and lets loan agreements lapse when tensions arise.