Are There Giant Pandas in Dublin Zoo? (Solved!)


Aside from China, you’ll find giant pandas living in captivity in a lot of zoos in Europe. Interestingly, Dublin Zoo in Europe keeps different kinds of threatened animals.

However, I wonder – are there giant pandas in Dublin Zoo too?

No, there are no giant pandas for giant pandas in the Dublin zoo. However, Dublin Zoo is a home of a few red pandas. 

Some of the popular red pandas in the zoo are Jasmina (Female), N’Mai (male), Angelina (female), and Choka (male). By vote, these red pandas are the most-favorite visited animals in Dublin zoo!

Now you know that the Dublin zoo keeps red pandas and not giant pandas. Let’s see what the zoo is planning for red pandas in 2022.

Dublin Zoo Plans for Red Pandas in 2022

In 2022, Dublin Zoo plans to open new habitats for the red pandas. They aim to make these habitats much similar to a red pandas’ natural Himalayan habitat.

This will make the red pandas feel more at home in the zoo. This is important because these creatures are the kind that can’t adapt to environments different from their natural homes.

If there’s one thing that helps the red pandas survive, it’s the place they live in. So, it’s a good thing to create something very similar to their habitats, if not the same.

This improves the well-being of the red pandas. And that’s what the zoo hopes to achieve for the red pandas in 2022. 

Are There Giant Pandas in Dublin Zoo Before?

Yes, there were giant pandas in Dublin Zoo years back in 1986. They were two pandas, Ping Ping (Male) and Ming Ming (Female). 

They came to Dublin Zoo on June 17, 1986. However, they didn’t come to the zoo on a loan from China. They came as visitors to Dublin from China. 

This was a friendly visit that the Zoo’s director, Peter Wilson, arranged. He went beforehand to China to make plans for it.

Moreover, these pandas’ visits only lasted for about 100 days. In addition, the pandas came with a team of experts, a dietician, and a veterinarian, that looked after them till they left Zoo. 

The zoo displayed the pandas for some time and about 350,000 visited the zoo to see these pandas. This was a rare opportunity for the people in Dublin!

Where To Find Giant Pandas:

If you’re in Dublin and you want to see a giant panda, you can head over to any of these nearby locations below:

Final Thoughts

To sum up, there are no giant pandas in Dublin Zoo. However, you’ll find a few red pandas there. 

Interestingly, the zoo had giant pandas some years ago. This was just a friendly visit and not based on any loan agreements.

If you want the closest place to see a giant panda, you can go over to any of the locations we listed in the article.

Read our full article, “What Zoos Have Giant Pandas?” to see other places to find giant pandas around the world!