Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.

Thousands of Japanese fans have bid farewell to their beloved panda couple that made their final public appearance at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo before returning to China for medical treatment.

Two pandas are heading back to China eight years early amid lower-than-hoped-for visitor numbers at a zoo in rural Finland, and after the pair didn’t produce a cub.

Finland will return two giant pandas on loan from China more than eight years ahead of schedule because of financial problems at the zoo where they are housed, its chair told AFP on Wednesday.

Finland will return two giant pandas to China in November, more than eight years ahead of time, as the zoo where they live can no longer afford their upkeep, the chair of the zoo's board told Reuters on Tuesday.

A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors.

Due to the excessive costs associated with their care, two giant pandas leased from China and kept at a Finnish zoo were returned.

Shutterstock / Elena Sirotkina A zoo in Finland has agreed to send to loaned pandas back to China after the costs of keeping the critters have become too much. According to the NY Post, declining visitors to the zoo have made the pandas unaffordable.