Beloved panda Fu Bao starts quarantine in China after arriving from South Korea
- Staff from Everland zoo near Seoul confirm she’s in ‘stable health’ after check-up
- But concerns have been raised on social media over her treatment at the airport
Fu Bao, the first giant panda born in South Korea, has arrived in China and is now in quarantine at a nature reserve in the southwest, where she will join a breeding programme.
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Fu Bao was accompanied by staff from the Everland zoo near Seoul, who confirmed that she was in “stable health” after a check-up, the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas said in a post on Weibo.
After clearing customs, she was transported to the Shenshuping giant panda base at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan, where she will spend a month in quarantine, the research centre said in another post on Thursday.
But her arrival was not without controversy. Concerns were raised on social media over Fu Bao’s treatment at the airport after a video clip showed a person in a staff vest and with no gloves on poking a finger into an air hole of her carrier.
The footage prompted a discussion about the panda’s health and safety, with comments left under the research centre’s posts asking how an airport worker could be allowed to do this.
