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.

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

They will be sent back to China eight years earlier than originally planned because they are too expensive to keep.

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 to return two loaned giant pandas to China eight years early because they are too expensive for the facility to maintain.

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.

A zoo in Finland will return two giant pandas to China eight years early, saying it can no longer afford to look after them. Lumi and Pyry were brought to Finland in 2018, after the two countries signed an agreement to protect the animals.