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Lumi and Pyry

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A panda in Ähtäri Zoo.

Lumi and Pyry are giant pandas from China that were rented by Ähtäri Zoo.

In the spring of 2016, it was announced that the Ähtäri Zoo in Finland could rent giant pandas from China in honor of the centenary of Finland's independence. In 2018 there were approximately 2 020 pandas in the wild and about 400 in zoo conditions.[1] In addition to Finland, as a part of China's panda diplomacy Chinese pandas are on loan in multiple European countries including Belgium, Netherlands, Austria and France.[2] The 12 million, 15-year agreement for renting pandas between Ähtäri Zoo and the National Panda Administration of China was signed in April 2017.[3]

The pandas have been considered an important foreign policy project in Finland, and their coming to Finland has been mentioned as the result of an agreement between the President of the Republic, Sauli Niinistö, and the President of China, Xi Jinping.[4]

The maintenance of giant pandas is expensive, and the zoo faced financial difficulties due to a lack of government funding. The zoo decided to return the pandas early to China in late 2024.

Background

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On 16 April 2016, representatives Anne Kalmari (Centre) and Teuvo Hakkarainen (Finns party) of the 9-member Finland Agriculture and Forestry Committee (Finnish: Maa- ja metsätalousvaliokunta) traveled Beijing and Shanghai for a week to discuss agriculture and forestry issues, food production and the promotion of Finnish exports.[5][3]

They met with Chen Fengxuen, deputy minister of forest management responsible for pandas, with whom forestry issues were at the top of the agenda. The panda project, which had progressed in negotiations for a long time, "came as an extra point on the discussion list". Kalmari expressed to Keskisuomalainen that an agreement was 99,9% sure.[6]

Construction of the Ähtäri panda house started in February 2017. The interior space is about 2,400 square meters and the outdoor yard is about 3,000 square meters. The indoor conditions were challenging because it is a greenhouse-type climate. The humidity of the indoor air was precisely defined and the temperatures are precisely controlled to keep the vegetation in good condition.[7]

The climbing area of the house is designed to closely resemble the pandas' natural environment. It is coated with a special compound because bear faces corrodes concrete.[8] The building complex also includes a ticket office, a restaurant and a souvenir shop.[9] Finishing the panda house continued for the last week before the arrival of the pandas.[8]

The building cost 8.2 million euros. The investment is paid for by Ähtärin Eläinpuisto Oy.[9] Ähtäri city tried to grant it first eight million and then 10 million euro loan guarantees, but the Vaasa administrative court overturned the city council's decisions.[10]

After travelling from Dujiangyan Panda Center, they flew from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and arrived to Helsinki Airport on 18 January 2018. After being quarantined for a month, male Hua Bao (named Pyry, Finnish for snowfall or a blizzard) and female Jin Baobao (Lumi, Finnish for snow) could first be seen by the public on 17 February.[11][12]

Time in Finland

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It was hoped that the pandas would bring 100,000 more visitors to Ähtäri every year. This would mean an additional annual income of around 6 million euros for companies in the region.[9] A total of 275,000 visitors visited the zoo in 2018. The number was close to the target, which was 280,000 visitors. The revenue doubled compared to the previous year, rising to 11 million euros. The zoo achieved a profit of 1.2 million euros,[13] but the following year, Ähtäri zoo companies made a loss of about one million euros and had to reduce their operations by a dismissal or part-time employment of a maximum of 20 people of their 50 employees.[14]

The starting point of the project was to get a puppy. In July 2022, Lumi still hadn't had the expected baby. Two out of three mating attempts ended in false pregnancy, and the third attempt at artificial insemination also ended in a disappointment.[15]

The Parliament has assisted the Ähtäri Zoo with 1.5 million, and an additional budget of three million euros was presented at the beginning of 2023, before the plans to return the pandas.[4]

In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry proposed and the Ministry of Finance, led by centrist Finance Minister Annika Saarikko, approved in the supplemental budget proposal a support of up to five million euros for the zoo.[16] When the proposal aroused widespread criticism, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen (Centre) withdrew his proposal.[17]

Issues and return to China

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No insurance company agreed to insure the pandas, so the Finnish government promised to pay China 2 million euros in compensation if the pandas died during the flight.[4]

The pandas have been leased to Ähtäri with a 15-year contract.[18] Over the course of 15 years, they would have costed Ähtäri a total of around 14 million euros.[19] An adult panda eats about 12 kilograms of bamboo every day, which means costs of about 100,000 euros per year.[19] Ähtäri Zoo ordered bamboo from a Dutch greenhouse, although a project was underway to cultivate bamboo food suitable for pandas in Ähtäri.[8]

Part of the reasons for a decrease in the number of visitors have been, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's attack on Ukraine.[20]

On 27 January 2023 Ähtäri Zoo announced its intention to return the pandas to China.[20] However, the return is difficult in terms of foreign and trade policy, and in addition, the transportation costs would be high if the pandas were eventually returned.[21] September 2024, it was announced that the pandas would be returned at the end of 2024. They could last day be seen by the public on 21 October.[22][10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ähtärin eläinpuiston pandatalo avasi ovensa: "Pandatalon rakentaminen oli iso ponnistus ja mittava investointi"" [The panda house of the Ähtäri Zoo opened its doors: "The building of the panda house was a big push and a massive invest]. Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Pandadiplomatiaa nyt Saksassa – Näissä maissa on kiinalaisia pandoja" [Panda diplomacy now in Germany - These countries have Chinese pandas]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Ähtärin pandat eivät ole Kiinan lahja Suomelle - vuokrahinta on yli 12 miljoonaa euroa" [The Ähtäri pandas aren't a gift to Finland - the rent price is over 12 million euros]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). 18 January 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Ähtärin pandat saamassa valtiolta kolme miljoonaa euroa – "Ulkopoliittinen intressi"". Ilta-Sanomat. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Keskisuomalaiset kansanedustajat matkustavat joukolla Kiinaan" [Central Finnish politicians are travelling in a group to China]. Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish). 17 April 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ Kakkori, Satu (18 April 2016). "Kalmari Kiinasta: Suomi saa pandoja ensi vuonna" [Kalmari from China: Finland will get pandas next year]. Keskisuomalainen. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  7. ^ leiwo, Hanne (5 April 2017). "Pandojen uusi koti rakentuu jo Ähtärissä – erityisesti sisäilmasta ollaan tarkkoja". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Tompuri, Vesa (18 January 2018). "Tällainen talo pandoille rakennettiin Ähtäriin". Rakennuslehti.
  9. ^ a b c "Kriisikunnaksi vajonnut Ähtäri toivoo pandapariskunnan tuovan kaupunkiin miljoonia euroja". Satakunnan Kansa. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Onko tässä ensi vuoden budjetin kummallisin kirjaus? Suomi varautuu maksamaan kaksi miljoonaa Kiinalle, jos Ähtärin pandat kuolevat". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Ähtäri Zoo giant pandas arrived to Finland | Finavia". www.finavia.fi. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Ähtäri Zoon isopandojen lento Suomeen sujui hyvin". tiedote. Ähtäri Zoo. 18 January 2018. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Ähtärin Eläinpuisto nousi pandojen avulla miljoonatulokseen" [Ähtäri Zoo rose to profit in the millions with the help of the pandas]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Ähtärin Eläinpuistossa aloitetaan yt-neuvottelut – jopa 20 työpaikkaa vaarassa" [Collective bargaining negotiations begin at Ähtäri Zoo - up to 20 jobs at risk]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 23 January 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Ähtärin pandat | Miljoonien eurojen kulut eikä pentujakaan saatu: Tällainen oli kiinalaispandojen aika Suomessa" [The pandas of Ähtäri | Costs of millions and no puppies: This was the Chinese pandas' time in Finland like]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Hallitus | Valtiovarainministeriö esittää Ähtärin pandoille viittä miljoonaa, hallituksessa ihmetellään". Helsingin Sanomat. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Talous | Ministeri Kurvinen: Ehdotus pandojen rahoittamisesta viidellä miljoonalla vedetään pois". Helsingin Sanomat. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Ähtärin Pyry ja Lumi uhkaavat palata Kiinaan – pandojen pelastamiseksi kaksi uutta oljenkortta". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 November 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ^ a b Karjalainen, Katariina (13 April 2017). "HS: Ähtärin pandojen vuosihinta lähes miljoona euroa – bambunkorsista sadantonnin lisäkustannukset". Ilta-Sanomat. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Pandat | Ähtäri päätti palauttaa pandat Kiinaan" [Pandas | Ähtäri decided to return the pandas to China]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Tästä syystä pandojen palautus ei onnistu noin vain – virkamies haukkuu Ähtärin eläinpuiston markkinoinnin" [This is why the return of the pandas can't be done just like that - an official berates the marketing of the zoo]. Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Ähtärin jättiläispandat palaavat Kiinaan – yleisön nähtävinä 21. lokakuuta saakka" [The giant pandas of Ähtäri are returning to China - to be seen by the public until 21st of October]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
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