Polar bear from Nanjing temporarily moved to Xi'an for 'blind date'

(ECNS) -- Zai Zai, a polar bear from Nanjing Underwater World, headed for Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, for breeding on Sunday.

Zai Zai was artificially bred in Russia and came to China in 2010.

It weighs 350 kilograms and is 3 meters tall, looking very strong. In 2017, it became the mascot of Nanjing Underwater World.

Zai Zai took a refrigerator van to Xi'an in which the temperature was controlled at about 18 to 25 degrees Celsius, the same as that in its home in Nanjing.

Zai Zai is expected to mate in next spring. Cross-park mating will help improve the breed of offspring and increase the genetic diversity of captive populations. The polar bear will return to Nanjing around May 1 regardless of the mating result.