A zoo located in Finland has made an agreement with Chinese authorities to return a pair of giant pandas back to China earlier than their scheduled return date. The Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland, about 330 kilometers north of Helsinki, announced on its Facebook page that the female panda named Lumi and the male panda named Pyry will be heading back to China later this year. Named after winter elements, the pandas were given to Finland as a gift from China in honor of the Nordic nation’s 100 years of independence in 2017, with an original loan agreement lasting until 2033.

Since their arrival in 2018, the zoo has faced various challenges including a decline in visitors due to the impact of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Additionally, the zoo has encountered an increase in inflation and interest rates, making it economically unfeasible to continue caring for the pandas. The upkeep of Lumi and Pyry, which includes a preservation fee to China and the costly import of bamboo from the Netherlands, has amounted to approximately 1.5 million euros per year for the zoo.

To accommodate their special guests, the Ähtäri Zoo constructed a Panda House annex with an investment of around 8 million euros in the hopes of attracting more tourists to the remote nature reserve. Despite efforts from the Chinese Embassy in Helsinki to assist the zoo in overcoming its financial difficulties, the economic challenges proved to be too overwhelming for the facility to sustain the pandas. The pair will undergo a month-long quarantine in late October before being transported back to China.

Finland, a country known for its early establishment of diplomatic relations with China, received the giant pandas as a symbol of goodwill and strengthened political ties. China has a tradition of gifting giant pandas to other countries, and Finland was the first Nordic nation to be granted this gesture. The premature return of Lumi and Pyry marks the end of an ambitious venture aimed at fostering cultural exchange and increasing tourism, highlighting the financial strains faced by the Ähtäri Zoo amid a changing economic landscape.