19th July 2023: Giant Panda at Kobe Oji Zoo, Japan

Thank You very much Keiko!

Giant Pandas at Ueno Zoo, Japan

Thank You very much Keiko!

Austria: Fu Feng and Fu Bao

On 7th October I got two postcards from Austria.

One of them shows the Giant Panda twins Fu Feng and Fu Bao at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn. Already since 2003 the zoo is home to Giant Pandas and due to the big breeding successes they are allowed to stay longer in Vienna than the usual ten years. When I visited the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in 2014, it was home to three Giant Pandas: Yang Yang (female), Long Hui (male) and their cub Fu Bao (male). Fu Bao (born in 2013) was already their third cub. Fu Feng and Fu Bao are their youngest cubs and were born in August 2016 just four months before their father Long Hui died. 

The card was signed during a World Postcard Day Meet-up in Vienna. The stamp is from a set of three about floor sports (issued 25-09-2021).

Thank You very much Anna!

Hong Kong: Giant Panda

On 11th February I got a postcard from Hong Kong.

It is one of the six maxicards about Ocean Park issued last year, this is the one about the Giant Panda. You can see the whole set here. Apparently using the stamp on the front side is enough, as there is no other stamp on the backside. This is an official card. 

Thank You very much Matthäus!

Hong Kong: Ocean Park

Giant Pandas in Zoos is one of my favourite collections and when Hong Kong issued a set of six stamps about animals from the Ocean Park plus a set of maxicards, I could not resist to buy them. Ordered in August, they finally reached be on the 2nd October.

Germany: Panda Twin Birthday

On 12th September I got six postcards including four from Germany. 

Many special postmarks were already available this year, but this has to be my favourite so far. I celebrates the 1st birthday of Berlin's panda twins.

I got the postmark on this card of Meng Meng, the mother of the twins. I still had this card from my trip to the zoo in 2017.

I also got the postmark on this prepaid cover about the zoo's 175th anniversary. 

 

Japan: Giant Panda at the Kobe Oji Zoo

Yesterday I got a postcard from Japan.

It shows a Giant Panda from the Kobe Oji Zoo during the years. The Kobe Oji Zoo is a municipal zoo in Kobe in the Japanese Hyogo Prefecture. Since 2000 it is home to Giant Pandas, which are among the most popular animals in the zoo. It is always great to get a new card with these wonderful animals and this year so far has been a very good one for my Giant Pandas in Zoos collection. With this one I now have a card from all three Japanese zoos with Giant Pandas.

A stamp about the Centenary of the National Monuments System was used on the card. It is from a set of ten and was issued on 17th July 2020. Also look at the cute panda illustration on the back side of the card.

Thank You very much Keiko!

Austria: Giant Panda Twins from Vienna

On Saturday I got a postcard from Austria.

It shows the Giant Panda twins Fu Feng and Fu Bao at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn. The Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna was established in 1752 and is thus the oldest zoo of the World being still open. Already since 2003 the zoo is home to Giant Pandas. Due to the big breeding successes they are allowed to stay longer in Vienna than the usual ten years. When I visited the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in 2014, it was home to three Giant Pandas: Yang Yang (female), Long Hui (male) and their cub Fu Bao (male). Fu Bao (born in 2013) was already the third cub of Yang Yang and Long Hui. Fu Feng and Fu Bao are the youngest cubs of Yang Yang and Long Hui. They were born in August 2016 just four months before their father Long Hui died. 

Beside a definitive about accessories and ornaments of traditional costumes (issued 01-04-2020) a personalised stamp about Fu Feng was used. Also the postmark shows a Giant Panda. It is actually the First Day Special Postmark of the new Crypto Stamp, but in Austria these postmarks can also be used on other stamps. Interestingly also postmarks from Graz and Vienna were used.

So far the Giant Pandas of Vienna were not only shown on multiple personalised stamps but also on a nice souvenir sheet. However as they are now already so long in Vienna, the sheet is quite old. It was issued on 14th April 2003.

Thank You very much for the nice card Anita!

Taiwan: Giant Panda at Taipei Zoo

On 13th March I got a postcard from Taiwan.

It shows a Giant Panda at the Taipei Zoo. The Taipei Zoo was opened in 1914 and is today one of the largest zoos in Asia and the most famous in Taiwan. In 2008 two Giant Pandas arrived in Taipei from China. They are called Tuan Tuan (male) and Yuan Yuan (female). They were first offered in 2005, when they were rejected. Their cub Yuan Zai was born in 2013 and is the first Panda cub born on Taiwan.

Stamps:
World Baseball Softball Confederation Championships (from set of four) (issued 01-11-2019)
Year of the Rat (from set of two) (issued 03-12-2019)

Thank You very much Vicky!

Japan: Giant Panda from Ueno Zoo

Last Thursday I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from Singapore.

The card from Japan shows a Giant Panda from the Ueno Zoo. The Ueno Zoo is a zoo in Tokyo. It was opened in 1882 and is thus the oldest zoo in Japan. Since 1972 it is home to Giant Pandas. The current pair, Līlī (male) and Shinshin (female), arrived in the zoo in 2011.

With a nice stamp:
Astronomical Worlds (from set of ten) (issued 05-02-2020)
with First Day Special Postmark

Thank You very much Keiko!

Finland: Giant Pandas at Ähtäri Zoo

On Friday I got three postcards: two from Finland and one from Sweden.

The two cards from Finland show the Giant Pandas at the Ähtäri Zoo. The Ähtäri Zoo was opened in 1973 and is today the second largest zoo in Finland. Two goals of the zoo are creating natural living conditions for the animals and increasing knowledge of species and nature. It is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. In 2016 it was first announced that the zoo would get two Giant Pandas as loan from China to celebrate Finland's Centenary of Independence in 2017. In February 2017 the construction of the panda's home began and the two Giant Pandas arrived in January 2018. They will stay in Finland for the next 15 years.

The first card shows Pyry, the male panda.

Stamps:
Arktika (from set of six) (issued 09-05-2017)
Christmas (from set of two) (issued 06-11-2019)

The second card shows Lumi, the female panda.

Stamps:
Arktika (from set of six) (issued 09-05-2017)
EUROPA (from set of two) (issued 08-05-2019)

Thank You very much Soili!

France: Giant Panda at the ZooParc de Beauval

On Friday I got two postcards: one from France and one from Germany.

The card from France is an odd panda postcard from the ZooParc de Beauval. The ZooParc de Beauval is a zoological garden in Saint-Aignan. It was opened in 1980 and is today one of the largest zoos in France. The zoo is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Since 2012 two Giant Pandas are living in the zoo and in 2017 two babies were born, of which one already died one day later. The ZooParc de Beauval is the only zoo in France housing Giant Pandas.

Stamp:
New Marianne
EUROPA (issued 18-05-2018)

Thank You very much Nathalie!

Hong Kong: Giant Panda at the Ocean Park

On Wednesday I got two postcards: one from Hong Kong and one from the Czech Republic.

The card from Hong Kong shows a Giant Panda at the Amazing Asian Animals habitat at the Ocean Park.

Stamp:
Inclusive Communication (from set of six) (issued 07-06-2018)
with a special postmark from Tsim Sha Tsui

Thank You very much Keiko!

Japan: Giant Panda at Ueno Zoo

Last Thursday I got two postcards: one from Japan and one from Belarus.

The card from Japan shows a Giant Panda from the Ueno Zoo. The Ueno Zoo is a zoo in Tokyo. It was opened in 1882 and is thus the oldest zoo in Japan. Since 1972 it is home to Giant Pandas. The current pair, Līlī (male) and Shinshin (female), arrived in the zoo in 2011.

Stamp:
UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (issued 03-13-2015)
with a special postmark of the Hogsmeade Owl Post

Last Thursday I also got a cover with the Hogsmeade postmark.

Thank You very much Pei!

China: Giant Panda at the Beijing Zoo

Last Friday I got two postcards from China.

One of them shows a Giant Panda at the Beijing Zoo. The Beijing Zoo was founded in 1906 and is thus one of the oldest zoos in China. With one of the largest animal collections in China it has also become a center of zoological research. The zoo is especially known for its collection of rare animals endemic to China. The Giant Pandas are among the most popular animals in the zoo.

Stamps:

Thank You very much Keiko!

My Trip to the Berlin Zoological Garden and its Giant Pandas

Last Saturday I visited the Berlin Zoological Garden.

The Berlin Zoological Garden was opened in 1844 and is thus Germany's oldest zoo. Today it is the most species-rich zoo in the World. It is also considered to be the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular in the World. The zoo is involved in the protection of endangered species. 

The Elephant Gate is one of the two entrances to the zoo. It was built between 1983 and 1984 and is one of the main sights of the zoo. The gate is a reconstruction, as the original one was destroyed during World War II.

On 22nd August 2012 Berlin's Giant Panda Bao Bao (male) died. After negotiations with China the zoo finally became again home to two Giant Pandas in June 2017. The two Giant Pandas Jiao Qing (male) and Meng Meng (female) are a permanent loan of China and will stay in Berlin for 15 years. They live in Europe's most modern compound for Giant Pandas.

The Aquarium Berlin is one of Germany's largest aquariums. It was built in 1913 as part of the Berlin Zoological Garden complex and is ranked among the public aquariums with the World’s greatest biodiversity.

Netherlands: Giant Pandas at the Ouwehands Dierenpark

On Saturday I got two postcards: one from the Netherlands and one from France.

The card from the Netherlands shows the Giant Pandas at the Ouwehands Dierenpark. The Ouwehands Dierenpark is a zoo in Rhenen. It opened in 1932. By the end of the 1990s the zoo was practically bankrupt, but after a change of ownership in 2000 the zoo was modernised. The new owner also started attempts to get Giant Pandas for the zoo. On 12th April 2017 two Giant Pandas, Wu Wen (female) and Xing Ya (male), arrived at the zoo as loan from China. Since 30th May they can be visited by the public.

With matching stamps:
Personalied stamps "Giant Pandas"

Thank You very much Mike!