Two pandas, Xi Lan and Po, are leaving for China

So it is with the romance between Atlanta and two big black-and-white bears.

On May 12, the furry siblings Xi Lan and Po will leave Zoo Atlanta and travel to the Sichuan province in China to live at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Some of their fans are already experiencing separation anxiety.

“I can hardly bear the thought,” wrote Jennifer Purdy-Lynn on Zoo Atlanta’s Facebook page.

“They are part of the family,” said Rebecca Snyder, curator of mammals at the zoo. “It is hard to see a cub born here, who you’ve watched grow up its whole life, it’s hard to see them go.”

Like all of the pandas at Zoo Atlanta — even the ones not yet born — Xi Lan and Po are the property of China, home of the last remaining panda habitats. The pandas’ parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, also belong to the Chengdu center, and are in Atlanta on loan, through an arrangement that is renegotiated every five years or so.

They have been a prolific pair. Their offspring include Mei Lan, born in 2006; Xi Lan, from 2008; Po, from 2010; and the twins, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, born last year.

Xi Lan, 5, and Po, 3, were scheduled to be transferred to China last fall, but veterinarians determined they weren’t quite chunky enough to make the trip in good health.

“We wanted them to be fat and sassy, ” said Deputy Director Dwight Lawson. The zoo staff decided to postpone that trip until this May. Since that time, the pandas have each put on about 22 pounds, and Xi Lan, at 220, and Po, at 187, are now at traveling weight.

Panda fans should visit Xi Lan and Po in the morning, when temperatures are cool enough for the pandas to be in the outdoor exhibit area. Visitors on Saturday, May 3, can get a special commemorative lapel button. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday (note: the zoo is closing early — at 3 p.m. — on May 3 for an event). Tickets: $16.99-$21.99. 800 Cherokee Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-624-5600, www.zooatlanta.org/.