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Zoo Atlanta's New Giant Pandas Make Public Debut in $6 Million Habitat
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, two 6-year-old giant pandas from China, greeted their first weekend crowds at Zoo Atlanta after a month-long quarantine, restoring a beloved attraction that had been absent for two years.
ATLANTA â Panda fans across metro Atlanta finally got their wish this weekend as Zoo Atlanta opened its new giant panda exhibit to the public for the first time, drawing families eager to see the zoo's newest residents.
The two 6-year-old pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, arrived from China six weeks ago and spent the past month in mandatory quarantine while adjusting to their new home. Their public debut began Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove, a $6 million habitat that includes pools, waterfalls, climbing structures and expanded indoor spaces designed to protect the bears from extreme temperatures. Bamboo, of course, is in ample supply.
The return of giant pandas to Atlanta ends a two-year absence. The zoo's previous panda family went back to China in 2024 after a 25-year stay that had made the animals one of the zoo's most popular attractions. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, raised at a research sanctuary in China before making the 16-hour journey to Atlanta, are expected to remain in the city for the next decade.
Visitors wasted no time turning out. "They were really, really cute, and I just wanted to, like, squeeze them because they were so fluffy," 9-year-old Zuri Brown said after getting her first look.
Zoo Atlanta is now one of only three zoos in the United States where the public can see giant pandas in person. Gates open at 9 a.m. Saturday, and zoo officials expect large crowds throughout the pandas' first full weekend on view.
The exhibit's opening also marks a milestone for the zoo's long-running conservation and research work with the species, and for a city that has counted pandas among its signature attractions for a quarter-century.