‘Creepy money-spinner’: Remains of Fu Bao's grandmother on display in museum

Social Affairs

Published: 07 Mar. 2024, 10:58

‘Creepy money-spinner’: Remains of Fu Bao's grandmother on display in museum

Taxidermized body and bones of Xin Nier - Fu Bao's grandmother [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The remains of Xin Nier, the grandmother of Fu Bao — the first Korea-born giant panda — are on public display, showcasing her skeleton and internal organs.

The preserved body of Xin Nier is exhibited at the Mystery of Life Museum in Chengdu, China, where her outer skin, muscle, internal organs and bones are showcased, said local reports in China.

Xin Nier, born in 2007, died in 2016 during wilderness training with her male cub in Sichuan Province, China, due to intestinal obstruction. She gave birth to Ai Bao — the mother of Fu Bao — in 2013.

After news of the museum display reached Korea, some voiced discomfort, with netizens quoted in the JoongAng Ilbo expressing sentiments like, "It is creepy to show internal organs even if it is a taxidermized animal" and "it is bitter to see one’s dead body has become a money-spinner."

Concerns were also raised regarding Fu Bao's future, as she is scheduled for repatriation to China next month. However, some believe that such exhibits serve educational purposes without issue.

Fu Bao, born on July 20, 2020, at Everland to parents Le Bao and Ai Bao — a pair leased by the Chinese government in 2016 — is currently undergoing quarantine measures in preparation for her relocation to China. Her final appearance to the Korean public was on Sunday, March 3, before her departure to a panda reserve in Sichuan on April 3.

China typically brings back overseas-born pandas before they reach the age of four for their mating behaviors.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]