Zoo Atlanta panda Mei Lan on her way to D.C.,China
Mei Lan prepares to board her plane, a 209 1/2-foot 777 Freighter, at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on Feb. 4, 2010. AJC/John Spink
For the first time since her birth inside Zoo Atlanta in 2006, Mei Lan is outside the Grant Park habitat, and up in the air.
Atlanta’s famous panda flies today to Washington, D.C., where she’ll be joined by her cousin, National Zoo panda Tai Shan. They’ll fly to China together on a direct 14-hour FedEx Express flight.
The pandas and their luggage will be the only cargo on board. Here are more photos from Mei Lan’s departure, and still more photos from her farewell party last weekend.
Zoo Atlanta officials said Mei Lan is a calm, laid-back bear they don’t expect to stress much over travel, or even her new surroundings. She had a normal night at Zoo Atlanta on Wednesday, but knew something was up this morning when keepers arrived two hours early. She noshed on a breakfast of bamboo and leafeater treats, then went into her crate about 5:40 a.m. with no problems. Her reward: sugar cane, her favorite food.
After a caravan to the airport and a ride past dozens of waiting photographers, Mei Lan was lifted into the 777 Freighter emblazoned with panda logos. Shortly after 8 a.m., the door was closed, the plane taxied and the flight took off.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed agreed it was fine to be “reflective, or even wistful” about Mei Lan’s departure, but important, too, to remember that she’s a healthy member of an endangered species, and by moving to China, she can help her kind survive. (Reed’s advice to her: “be fruitful and multiply.”) Scientists estimate there are about 1,600 Giant Pandas in the wild. About 300 live in captivity, mostly in China.
Three of them still live at Zoo Atlanta. Boy cub Xi Lan should be weaned toward the end of March and will transition to a solitary enclosure, like other adolescent and adult pandas. Come spring, Zoo Atlanta officials expect Lun Lun and Yang Yang, Mei Lan and Xi Lan’s parents, to try for another cub.
Want to go? Zoo Atlanta. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $13.99-$18.99, free for kids younger than 2. 800 Cherokee Ave. inside Grant Park, Atlanta. 404-624-9453, www.zooatlanta.org.
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30 comments Add your comment
gg
February 4th, 2010
10:39 am
Farewell Mei Lan. I watched your birth on Panda Cam, and followed you through your first year of life. I am a little sad to see you go, but I know you will be okay. The picture of you in the crate breaks my heart. Goodbye sweet girl.
A
February 4th, 2010
10:42 am
Sad. We moved from DC to Atlanta shortly after Tai Shan was born at the National Zoo, and we were in ATL for Mei Lan’s birth. I’m glad we got to see her in December. Safe travels!
TheStandard
February 4th, 2010
10:47 am
Heartbeaking… Safe travels Atlanta Beauty!
$$
February 4th, 2010
11:14 am
So exactly how much did all this hoop-la send off for Mei-Lan cost the city of Atlanta? Not much of real news to report this morning as the tv crews and all the brass were there for the send-off.
Wayne
February 4th, 2010
11:52 am
@$$, WOW – ever think about how you can’t put a price tag on an endangered species and the enjoyment that Mei Lan’s birth brought to this city? It is refreshing to see some GOOD news instead of war, economic woes and death.
Duh
February 4th, 2010
11:53 am
The Zoo pays for it you ninny.
Jamie Gumbrecht
February 4th, 2010
11:57 am
$$ — event costs haven’t been revealed, but FedEx donated transportation for the panda cubs from Atlanta to D.C. to China. Here’s more info: http://www.ajc.com/business/ups-not-shipping-pandas-286043.html
James
February 4th, 2010
12:04 pm
We shouldn’t be sending these pandas back to China. I saw first hand this summer the conditions of the Beijing Zoo. One word: deplorable.
Amy
February 4th, 2010
12:09 pm
I have been to that panda conservatory in Chengdu…she will have an amazing space to roam and live happily with many other pandas. Hao yun, Mei Lan!
Jamie Gumbrecht
February 4th, 2010
12:10 pm
James — Mei Lan isn’t going to the Beijing Zoo. She’s going to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Dr. Rebecca Snyder, Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda curator, told me today it’s a nice facility that will give Mei Lan more room than she had at Zoo Atlanta, as well as the opportunity to breed. (Both her grandmothers live there, as well, although it’s unlikely they’ll meet.) Here’s more info: http://www.panda.org.cn/english/index.htm
TheStandard
February 4th, 2010
12:24 pm
I love how everyone say “going back” when she’s never been. I hope she stays brave during the flight. She was really pacing the other day.
Daisy
February 4th, 2010
12:36 pm
Jamie Gumbrecht, I’m glad you’re here to clear things up! You have no idea how much “crap” you just saved us from. It all starts with one misinformed poster to turn things ugly. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, this is a sad day for those of us who care. I wish you the very best in health and life, Sweet Baby!
BigdaddyJ
February 4th, 2010
12:38 pm
Jamie – what happens to all the money people donated in trying to keep her here?
urbanredneck
February 4th, 2010
12:43 pm
Guess they got to get her out of Georgia before bear season starts again next fall. Happy trails, cutie pie.
Fred
February 4th, 2010
12:53 pm
@BigdaddyJ – Mei Lan was always going to China. The donations are to keep 2 (or maybe 3, don’t remember for sure) of the adult pandas here.
WhatDoIKnow
February 4th, 2010
12:56 pm
Oh no! No more panda stories in the AJC!
Ryan
February 4th, 2010
1:01 pm
Again with the proofreading! If this is the stuff being put on the web, I need to apply for a job!
(Reeds advice to her: “be fruitful and multiply.”)
Someone forgot the apostrophe!
Jamie Gumbrecht
February 4th, 2010
1:05 pm
BigdaddyJ — Fred has it right. Money donated to the “Give So They Stay” campaign went to keep Mei Lan’s parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, and their second cub, Xi Lan, in Atlanta longer. Mei Lan always was expected to return to China for breeding.
Jamie Gumbrecht
February 4th, 2010
1:07 pm
Ryan — thanks for pointing out the error. It has been fixed. To be clear, my blog posts are not edited or proofread by anybody else on the AJC staff. I do the best that I can, but this is one of four stories I am writing today, in addition to work with photos and videos and a two-hour Twitter class I’m teaching this afternoon. I do the best I can, but I am human, and there are mistakes. The good news is that they can be corrected quickly. Thanks again!
KingsKid
February 4th, 2010
1:22 pm
I watched the day you came into this world and have followed all of your time here in Atlanta.You will be missed Mei Lan but good luck on this next journey of your life. Your paw prints will always be imprinted on the city of Atlanta.
D MASE
February 4th, 2010
1:31 pm
LOTS OF ATTENTION AT FEDEX THIS MORNING….ONE THE BEST EXHIBITS ANY ZOO CAN OFFER….SO LONG…..
panda"razzi"
February 4th, 2010
2:19 pm
I shed a tear or two or three! Bittersweet!
Blkshephered
February 4th, 2010
3:02 pm
Good Riddance! I mean I am an animal lover as I own three shephereds.and they are well cared for but enough is enough already! They care more about this animal then all the hundreds of kids here in atlanta living in poverty. the homeless mean nothing. The sick kids in the hospital wards dont even get this kind of attention. And I seem to notice only a certain Type of people preening over this animal. If they used Half as much energy and coverage to finding homes for some of the Human orphans perhaps they wouldnt be over run with so many children without a home. So I am Glad to see it go! Now just maybe they can channel some of that same Interest time and Money on some of the orphan children of atlanta. Its a sad day, when animals become No.1 and humans not even second or third priority. Wake up United States!
elainer7
February 4th, 2010
3:12 pm
Good bye Mei Lan. You are taking a piece of my heart with you.
World’s Strangest | Shipping Pandas to China
February 4th, 2010
4:54 pm
[...] giant pandas remain at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan’s parents and an infant. Link -via [...]
Amber
February 5th, 2010
12:10 am
I have seen Mei Lan once last year at the Zoo Atlanta. Cute and adorable! Grand to know she gonna to live at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. ‘Cause I am from Chengdu, and I have been to this Panda research center many times. It is a nice place, far from the city, surrounded by bamboo trees. I am sure Mei Lan will have a happy life there. And in May I am going to visit my family in Chengdu, hope at that time I can see Mei Lan again there. And I will tell everybody in my home town that there are so many peope in Atlanta miss Mei Lan so much.
» Shipping Pandas to China Hotbits Blog
February 5th, 2010
3:02 am
[...] giant pandas remain at the Atlanta Zoo, Mei Lan’s parents and an infant. Link -via [...]
VIDEO: Panda Mei Lan’s last day at Zoo Atlanta | Inside Access
February 5th, 2010
4:02 am
[...] finally, although I posted a quick update from yesterday’s farewell at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a different version ran in print. If you want to see, here it [...]
Dona Cucich
February 5th, 2010
1:36 pm
I hope we will continue to get reports on Mei Lan in China. She’s become such a part of our lives. Maybe we won’t miss her quite so much if we get to hear about her from time to time. I also wish there was a webcam at Chengdu. Maybe one day. Mei Lan, thanks for the memories and remember – you’ll always be a native Atlantan.
Michelle Stevens
February 7th, 2010
8:36 am
Mei Lan, I have been a true follower of you since the moment they announced Lun Lun was going to have a baby panda. (Even though it was via internet). You will be greatly missed and will always be “Atlanta’s Beauty”. Michelle Stevens Blountville, Tennessee