Giant Panda Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei leave Ueno Zoo

Today, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at around 1:30 p.m., Giant Panda Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei left Ueno Zoo and headed for Narita International Airport.

Ueno Zoo director Yutaka Fukuda would like to express his gratitude to everyone.

Message from director

Today, twin Giant Panda Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, born at Ueno Zoo in June 2021, departed for their breeding facility in China. We are filled with a mixture of emotions, including gratitude for the love and comfort they received from so many people, anticipation for the important role they will play in breeding, and sadness at their departure. However, like the blue sky over Ueno today, we want to send them off with bright feelings.

This move was planned in accordance with an agreement, but it is an important departure for the two cubs as they reach sexual maturity. We ask for your understanding. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has warmly watched over Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei's growth up to now.

We would also like to express our gratitude and respect to the Chinese experts with whom we have collaborated on conservation research, and we would like to entrust them with the future care and management of the two animals.

First of all, we hope that the two pandas will arrive safely at their destination and live healthy and happy lives in their new environment. With the removal of the two pandas, Ueno Zoo will no longer have any Giant Panda, but we will continue to communicate with those involved and wait for the environment to be ready for new projects.

Ueno Zoo will continue to contribute to the conservation of biodiversity by raising and breeding endangered wild animal species.

Yutaka Fukuda, Director Ueno Zoological Gardens