Inbound Logistics | January 2025

HEAVY LIFTING, SENSITIVE CARGO

DHL delivered the

The shipment consisted of 11 containers, transported by sea and road. After a 15-day setup, international heart surgeons began offering free treatments to the country’s young patients. The clinic remained in El Salvador until May 2024, before DHL transferred it to Burundi, East Africa, where it continued its mission.

world’s first mobile heart clinic across oceans, covering over 9,000 kilometers from Bremen, Germany,

to Zacamil, El Salvador.

prevent dehydration, the manatees were misted with water under their blankets at regular intervals. Onboard, a Columbus Zoo Animal Care curator accompanied the animals, ensuring they remained stable throughout the ight. The attention to detail ensured that each manatee arrived in good health, ready to complete the nal phase of rehabilitation before returning to their natural habitat. Upon landing in Florida, the manatees were transported to their respective rehabilitation facilities. Two males, Nighthawk and Mr. Dobak, originally rescued as orphaned calves in Charlotte County, Florida, were sent to SeaWorld Orlando. Having undergone initial rehabilitation at the Columbus Zoo, they continued their care at SeaWorld before their expected release in early 2025. Meanwhile, three female manatees— Nolia, Amethyst, and Wafes—were transferred from Cincinnati Zoo to ZooTampa’s David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center. Rescued in early 2023, they initially received intensive care at ZooTampa before moving to Cincinnati Zoo’s Manatee Springs for continued rehabilitation. Now, they are back in Florida to complete their recovery. n

Pandas Take a High-Flying Global Journey FedEx Corporation transported six giant pandas between the United States and China on two separate flights. The round-trip journey departed Atlanta, arrived in Chengdu, China, where it delivered four pandas and then returned to Washington, D.C. with two pandas. The pandas traveled aboard a FedEx Boeing 777-F, known as the “FedEx Panda Express.” Departing Atlanta, FedEx transported four giant pandas from Hartseld- Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. The FedEx Panda Express departed on October 12, 2024 and arrived in Chengdu on October 13. The four pandas aboard included 27-year-old female Lun Lun and 27-year-old male Yang Yang, who have resided at Zoo Atlanta since 1999, and their twin female offspring, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, born at Zoo Atlanta in 2016. They safely arrived at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. On the return ight, FedEx transported two pandas from CTU to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, D.C. The FedEx Panda Express departed Chengdu on October 14 and arrived at Dulles International Airport on October 15. From there, the pandas were taken by truck to NZCBI.

Transporting five orphaned manatees more than 1,000 miles to Florida marked a major mile stone in marine conservation.

Manatees Return to Home Waters In a carefully coordinated effort,

DHL Express transported ve orphaned manatees more than 1,000 miles to their temporary homes in Florida, marking a major milestone in marine conservation. The journey was the nal leg of a multi- year rehabilitation effort by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, and SeaWorld Orlando. The operation began with the manatees being placed in custom-built travel containers designed for their safety and comfort. From Cincinnati, they were driven to the DHL Express Global Hub at Cincinnati International Airport, where they were loaded onto a specially scheduled DHL cargo plane. DHL ensured that the ight conditions were optimized for the well-being of the animals. The custom-built containers, secured on palettes attached to the plane’s oor for stability, featured thick foam bedding to cushion the manatees. Wool and space blankets helped maintain their body temperature, while care specialists monitored them throughout the ight using laser thermometers. To

For more than two decades, FedEx has worked with the Chinese government and zoos around the world to safely transport giant pandas to and from China.

176 Inbound Logistics • January 2025