Panda fans flock to Zoo Atlanta for the debut of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang

ATLANTA: Zoo Atlanta’s newest pandas munched bamboo and lounged Friday during their public debut as smiling visitors lined up to welcome them.

Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, arrived in September from China under a 10-year loan agreement, bringing the cuddly black-and-white bears back to the zoo after a two-year absence. After spending the past weeks getting acclimated to their habitat, the 6-year-old pandas greeted visitors in the newly renovated Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove.

Eight-year-old Rachel Sutherland and her family were visiting from Sacramento, California, and extended their vacation by a day to see the pandas.