DHL, the global leader in the express delivery market, is celebrating a special occasion – the birth of a panda at the Belgian animal sanctuary Pairi Daiza.
A pandastic journey in 2014
Due to the very small population of giant pandas in the world, every birth of a little cub is a major event. Let us recall that over two years ago, DHL transported two pandas from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Chengdu to Pairi Daiza in Belgium as part of an animal breeding program.
– On February 22, 2014, after loading the special shipment onto a Boeing 767 in Chengdu-Shuangliu, about 3/4 of the most difficult work was already behind us – recalls Dong Ming, CEO of DHL Express China. – Planning the entire operation had been underway for weeks and required creating a separate team consisting of over 20 DHL specialists in network planning, customs procedures and certification, handling, and ground transport,
which was to operate in at least five countries. Despite the fact that we were 8,000 km away from the destination, we believed that our network would perform perfectly in this highly complex and long-term undertaking.
– What remains after DHL played a key role in transporting the precious cargo – Hao Hao and Xing Hui – to Belgium, is a story with a happy ending featuring both pandas in the lead roles – stated Eric Domb, founder of the Pairi Daiza animal sanctuary. – On June 2, just over two years after transporting the future parents to Pairi Daiza, we were overjoyed to announce the birth of a baby panda belonging to a species whose global population does not exceed 2,000. This was a much longer shipment than a standard DHL delivery, but the wait was undoubtedly worth it.
The last mile defines customer service quality
– The pursuit of excellence in the express delivery industry does not end with the last delivery – adds Ken Allen, CEO of DHL Express. – To celebrate the arrival of Hao Hao and Xing Hui, we are also honored to announce that in two years, the little panda will be sent back by us to its ancestral home in China. DHL looks forward to continued cooperation with Pairi Daiza, during which we will provide transport for “Very Important Pandas” at the highest level and continue our efforts to protect wildlife around the world.
In recent years, DHL Express has supported numerous animal conservation programs, including helping to release silverback gorillas from the UK into the wild in Gabon and delivering two rare Sumatran tigers from Australia and the United States to the ZSL London Zoo as part of a breeding program. The safe transport of extraordinary and endangered animals is a result of DHL’s commitment to supporting nature and environmental conservation efforts worldwide. Photo report of the baby panda’s birth: https://www.pairidaiza.eu/en/baby-panda.