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Panda pair due to arrive at Moscow Zoo from China

A three-year-old male named Ru Yi and a two-year-old female named Ding Ding will spend 15 years at the Moscow Zoo

© AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. A pair of giant pandas are about to leave China’s southwestern city of Chengdu, bound for the Moscow Zoo, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a spokesperson for the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center.

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According to a bilateral agreement between the Moscow Zoo and the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center reached in early 2019, two giant pandas - a three-year-old male named Ru Yi and a two-year-old female named Ding Ding - will spend 15 years at the Moscow Zoo.

A Chengdu center staff member and a veterinarian will accompany the pair of pandas on the way to Russia. The Chinese experts will spend some time in Moscow to make sure that Ru Yi and Ding Ding are getting accustomed to their new surroundings and feel well.

The giant pandas’ flight is expected to arrive in Moscow at 17:00. Russian experts, who have received special training at the Sichuan research center, will oversee the animals on a permanent basis.

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