(28 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan – 28 September 2024
1. Shin Shin eating
2. Various of visitors taking photos of Shin Shin eating
3. Ri Ri in the corner of her enclosure
4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Hirono Sasaki, Tokyo resident:
(After crying)
“They were always my source of comfort, so I feel extremely sad.”
5. Shin Shin eating
6. Visitors waving goodbye to Shin Shin
7. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Hirono Sasaki, Tokyo resident:
“I loved seeing Ri Ri climbing trees in her old enclosure. I hope she can climb trees again when she is back in China.”
8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Sakurai (surname only), visitor from Saitama prefecture:
“I thought I would definitely regret it if I didn’t see them on the last day. I wanted to be with my beloved Ri Ri and Shin Shin until the very end, so I decided to go early today, no matter how long the line was.”
9. Various of Shin Shin eating
10. Ri Ri eating
11. Shin Shin
12. Ri Ri walking across the enclosure
13. Wide of Ri Ri and Shin Shin
14. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Takahashi Atsuko, from Kanagawa:
“I wish them a long life in China. They get to join Shan Shan who is already there.”
15. Various of people leaving panda enclosure weeping
16. Three women weeping after seeing Ri Ri and Shin Shin;
UPSOUND: “I’m glad we were able to see them.”
17. Pan Ueno zoo sign to visitors queueing before the opening
18. People waiting for the zoo to open
19. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Mayuko Sumida, office worker, travelled form Aichi prefecture, 44:
“I came here to queue at around 10pm last night.”
20. Pan of t-shirts with prints of Ri Ri and Shin Shin
21. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Mayuko Sumida, office worker, travelled form Aichi prefecture, 44:
“I came early to make sure I was going to be able to capture their final moments here with my own eyes.”
22. Pan of long queues outside the zoo
23. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Machiko Seki, office worker, 50s:
“My parents first took me to see the pandas here. I then came here again with my sister when Shin Shin and Ri Ri arrived – ever since then, I have become hooked on pandas.”
24. People with panda print umbrellas
25. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Machiko Seki, office worker, 50s:
“I like how they have similar gestures to humans, so there is a sense of familiarity.”
26. People queueing outside Ueno Zoo
27. SOUNDBITE (Japanese), Machiko Seki, office worker, 50s:
“Ri Ri and Shin Shin brought us so many smiles, so we came here to say thank you.”
28. Pan of people queueing to enter the panda enclosure
29. Person holding panda
STORYLINE:
Visitors wept at Tokyo’s Ueno zoo after seeing giant pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin for the last time Saturday, the final public viewing day before they are sent back to China.
The 19-year-old pair arrived at Ueno Zoo 13 years ago under a leasing agreement. After the ageing pandas were confirmed with high blood pressure, Japan and China agreed that the two should return to their native land to continue their treatment.
Some people camped out overnight to secure their chance to bid a final farewell to the two beloved pandas, while more than 2,000 visitors queuing outside the zoo on Saturday before its opening.
“They were always my source of comfort, so I feel extremely sad,” said Hirono Sasaki crying, who queued from 5 a.m. in the morning to see the two pandas.
“I loved seeing Ri Ri climbing trees in her old enclosure. I hope she can climb trees again when she is back in China.”
After lining up for hours to enter the enclosure, visitors were only allowed a few minutes inside to view the pandas.
AP video by Ayaka McGill
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