Pandemonium: Panda Grove opening at Zoo Atlanta

Here we go, pandemonium in Atlanta today as visitors will get to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang at Zoo Atlanta for the first time. The giant pandas will finally be on display after arriving from China last month. And as you can imagine, it has a lot of people excited, including, Good Day, Kim Loeffler. She's live from the zoo. She'll be one of the first to see the pandas later this morning. Lucky you, Kim. That's a big smile. Yeah, absolutely. I don't think I've ever been more excited to come to work than I was this morning. I literally squealed in the newsroom yesterday when I found out I was doing this today, so apologies to anyone who was inside of the newsroom when that happened, but that just shows you how excited that I am. Now, this marks the beginning of a new conservation era in Atlanta and a partnership between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Zoo Atlanta is now one of three U.S. zoos with giant pandas. and the only facility in the southeast housing the species. Both pandas were born in a breeding facility in China back in 2020, but they'll now call the Atlanta Zoo home for the next 10 years. Now, this all comes after the four pandas that were here at Zoo Atlanta left in 2024, after Zoo Atlanta's original giant panda agreement with China expired after 25 years. Now, we spoke to visitors right after the pandas arrived last month who could not wait to meet them. I think it's really exciting. I think the kids will love it, and I think it's a great addition to the zoo. I feel very excited because I have been to China and actually saw the pandas in the Beijing Zoo. So the fact that they are sharing that national treasure with us is really something to be celebrated in terms of world peace and harmony between our nations. It's priceless. Now, the pandas did have to undergo a quarantine period once they arrived in Atlanta, so that's why visitors have not yet been able to see them. But the opening ceremony at the Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove, that'll be taking place this morning at 8 a.m. before the zoo opens to the public at 10.30. And, of course, we will be here throughout the morning, and we'll keep you updated on all of the excitement. For now, live at Zoo Atlanta, Kim Loeffler for Good Day Atlanta.