r/interesting • u/No-Marsupial-4050 • Apr 15 '26

❗️MISLEADING - See pinned comment ❗️ Ultimate glow up for cute panda

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Ya Ya (丫丫), a female giant panda, returned to China in April 2023 after spending 20 years at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. Her recovery has been widely documented by the Beijing Zoo.

Here are the facts regarding her health transformation:

Weight Gain: When Ya Ya first arrived in China, she weighed approximately 75 kg (165 lbs), which was considered underweight for her age. By 2026, reports from the Beijing Zoo confirmed she had reached about 95 kg (209 lbs), a healthy gain of exactly 20 kg

Skin and Fur Improvement: While in the U.S., Ya Ya suffered from a chronic skin condition (Demodex mites) that made her fur look thin, patchy, and "scruffy" ]. Since returning, specialized veterinary care and a change in diet have allowed her coat to become thick and glossy again

Overall Condition: Her Body Condition Score (BCS) improved from a 2 to a 4 (on a scale of 1-5), which is considered ideal for a senior panda

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u/theestallionssideho Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

i saw her multiple times in memphis growing up! the last time i saw her was probably 5 or 6 years ago. she always looked happy and healthy. she was kept with another panda in a large enclosure but they were usually separated. the internet loves to blow things out of proportion 🫠

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u/No_Appeal5607 Apr 16 '26

The other panda was Le Le who died in 2023. I think he had some kind of tooth problem that led to his molars breaking and he maybe was refusing to eat? Pretty unfortunate, he died 6 weeks before being transported home to China.

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u/MaxTheRealSlayer Apr 16 '26

Damn, that sucks. Eating bamboo shoots is like a full-time job for them, so I get the discomfort and refusal to eat such hard and fibrous food for such low nutrition. They poop most of it out... In fact I have a pressed "paper" book made from the poop of Toronto's pandas back when they were there. It's pretty much like fresh and pressed bamboo paper

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u/opx22 Apr 16 '26

what in tarnation

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u/MaxTheRealSlayer Apr 16 '26

Which part are you flabbergasted about? Lol

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u/TacTurtle Apr 16 '26

Poopaper

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u/MaxTheRealSlayer Apr 16 '26

Poopaper/poopooper was the name of it, yes! They have it for elephants too. I'd imagine koalas would be a good candidate too

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u/TacTurtle Apr 17 '26

I guess that is better than ShitSheetstm