Cover image via ABCTVnews / YouTube
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Adventure World, an amusement park in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture, found a low-tech way to fill its vacant panda enclosures
After returning its last four bears to China in June last year, the park's staff began mimicking the animals.
According to Japanese media outlet ABCTVnews, the four pandas — 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring, Yuihin, Saihin, and Fuhin — were sent back as part of a long-standing agreement.
This departure marked the end of the park's 31-year history of housing the beloved bears.
To keep engagement levels high, the park now hosts a weekly 'panda keeper experience tour', where visitors can interact with human 'pandas'
During these sessions, participants act as keepers and feed staff members who wear panda hats and pretend to eat apples. The tours take place inside the actual living areas where the bears once resided.
"I felt happy to be in the same place as [my] favourite panda," one participant said. The initiative went viral on social media, with some users describing the roleplay as "surreal".
The keepers also used the sessions to ensure their specialised knowledge did not fade away. Some viewers even mistook the footage for artificial intelligence, while others noted the bittersweet nature of the performance.
The project was initiated by public relations officer Manami Wakabayashi through the Panda Love Club. Wakabayashi, who raised pandas for three decades, intended for the events to preserve the park's unique skills.
While the enclosures remained empty, the park continued to hold lectures, tours, and talks about its memories of the animals.
It remained unclear if Japan would welcome new pandas in the future.
The farewell trend continued nationwide. Ueno Zoo in Tokyo is preparing to send its remaining twins — Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei — back to China by the end of January.
