NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- After housing giant pandas for a quarter-century, Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, the U.S. state of Georgia, announced Friday that its four iconic black and white bears will return to China in mid-October, in tandem with the expiration of the zoo's giant panda agreement with China at the end of that month.

The panda Ding Ding attacked a female worker inside her enclosure at the Chongqing Zoo in China, on 19. The woman was bitten, but managed to escape without serious injury. Zoo authorities are investigating the incident.

Zoo Atlanta says that its four giant pandas are getting ready to move back to China in mid-October. The zoo didn’t specify a date for their departure, but said that visitors who want to say a last goodbye to the pandas should visit in the next three weeks.