Xin Xin and her aunt Shuan Shuan are particularly special in the panda world as they are the only living captive pandas who are not considered the property of the Chinese government.
ADVERTISEMENTMexican-based Panda Xin Xin celebrated her 29th birthday this week.
Xin Xin and her aunt Shuan Shuan are particularly special in the panda world as they are the only living captive pandas who are not considered the property of the Chinese government. In 1975, China gave two giant pandas to Mexico as a gift. The offspring of the original pair have remained in Mexico ever since.
Typically, in a scheme called "Panda Diplomacy," zoos receive pandas from China on loan for approximately ten years. This system is costly with most organisations paying approximately one million per year to host these rare pandas.
Xin Xin and Shuan Shuan are national treasures in Mexico. Their home, the Chapultepec zoo is renowned for its success in keeping pandas. When Xan Li was born in the zoo in 1980, Chapultepec became the first panda to be born in captivity outside of China.
In 2016, there were just 1,864 pandas left in the wild.