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The First Panda in the West
In 1936, a US socialite and her Chinese-American guide captured a giant panda cub and took it to New York. It was the first time the animal had been seen outside China.
In 1936 American socialite Ruth Harkness and her Chinese-American guide, Quentin Young, captured a giant panda cub in the forests of China. Ruth Harkness took the panda to the USA and kept it in her New York flat, before selling it to a Chicago zoo. It was the first time the animal had been seen outside China and panda-mania ensued. It was named 'Su-Lin' and celebrities such as Shirley Temple and Al Capone flocked to see it. Hear from Quentin Young's neice, Jolly Young, about the expedition in search of the panda.
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Last on
Sat 30 Apr 202223:15GMT
BBC Radio 4
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- Sun 12 Jan 201414:45GMTBBC Radio 4
- Tue 22 Mar 202209:30GMTBBC Radio 4
- Sat 30 Apr 202223:15GMTBBC Radio 4
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