A transfer under high surveillance.
The female panda Ya Ya, who had lived at the Memphis Zoo (United States) for 20 years, returned to China this Thursday, April 27, scrutinized live by millions of Chinese Internet users who demanded her return to the country, accusing, on social networks, mistreatment Americans.
An intercontinental quarrel around this animal, Chinese "
national treasure
" and diplomatic weapon, symbol of the increasingly tense relations between the two countries.
Born in 2000 at the Beijing Zoo, Ya Ya was loaned to the Memphis Zoo in 2003 for a period of 10 years, renewed once.
But in recent months, voices have been raised, especially in China, to denounce the state of health of the animal.
The panda is said to be emaciated and its coat in poor condition, a sign of poor treatment by Americans.
Nearly 200,000 people have signed a Panda Voices petition asking to "
send her home
".
A panda died in February
The zoo denies it, recalling on its site that a dozen healers and veterinarians took care of the 86-kilo panda.
His small size "
does not come from his nutrition but from his genetics
", he assures on his site.
As for his sometimes sparse fur, this would be due to a "
chronic disease
" affecting his skin and coat, changing according to the
animal's "
hormonal fluctuations ", without "
affecting his quality of life
".
The sudden death of Ya Ya's companion, the male Le Le, in February did not calm the suspicions of critics of the American zoo.
The Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG), which oversees the loan of pandas to foreign countries, then went there to perform an autopsy on the male – which concluded that he had a heart problem – and examine the female.
The Chinese had then estimated, "
after carefully examining the monthly reports and recent annual physical examinations
", that "
the giant pandas at the Memphis Zoo [were] well cared for
".
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"Panda Diplomacy"
The American media see in this animal affair a reflection of the growing tensions with China.
The country has long practiced "
panda diplomacy
", the loan of an individual of this endangered species serving as a symbol to mark an appeasement or strengthening of relations with the recipient country.
On the sidelines of Emmanuel Macron's state visit to China in early April, the stay in France of Yuan Zi and Huan Huan, the two pandas loaned to the Beauval zoo in 2012, has thus been extended until 2027.
In 1972, two pandas were offered to the Washington Zoo - since 1984, pandas are no longer given away but loaned, for about a million dollars a year - to celebrate the resumption of diplomatic and commercial relations with the United States, in full Cold War.
Fifty years later, the two powers are drifting apart again.
Will Americans have to say goodbye to all their pandas?
Just before Ya Ya's return to the country, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to calm things down, reports CNN, assuring that "China wishes to continue to work
with its partners, including the United States, to contribute to the conservation of endangered species
.