Giant pandas will return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., this year, officials announced Wednesday.
Two-year-old pandas, Bao Li and Qin Bao, are expected to arrive at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute by the end of the year. The zoo announced in a press release that its partnership with the China Wildlife Conservation Society will bring more adorable joy to bear lovers across the country.
First lady Jill Biden announced the happy news in a video on Wednesday, joking that she was working with National Zoo Director Brandi Smith and Smithsonian Institution Director Lonnie G. Bunch III to prepare to welcome the two special guests to the White House.
“We can’t wait to celebrate this historic moment in our nation’s capital and hope you’ll join us! It’s official! Pandas are coming home to Washington DC!” she said.
The male, Bao Li, whose name means “treasure” or “spirited” in Chinese, and the female, Qin Bao, whose name means “green” or “treasure”, were both born at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in Sichuan province.
Bao Li’s mother, Bao Bao, was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in 2013, and his grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, lived there from 2000 to 2023.
Animal lovers can visit the pandas at the zoo for free, or keep an eye on the animals’ antics on the Panda Camera, which will be relaunched at the zoo when the new pandas are introduced to the public.
Brandi Smith, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, called the announcement a “historic moment.”
“Through this partnership, we have increased our shared understanding of how to care for these beloved bears, and learned what it takes to protect wild pandas and preserve their native habitat,” Smith said.
The announcement came after giant pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their cub Xiao Qiji returned to China last year when their panda loan agreement expired amid strained U.S.-China relations.
Following the news of their retirement, fans flocked to the National Zoo to say goodbye to the loveable black-and-white bears, who have been one of the zoo’s highlights for many years.
The new National Zoo loan agreement will run for 10 years.
The panda programs at the National Zoo and other zoos across the U.S. are part of a breeding and conservation program, and the efforts are paying off. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there were an estimated 1,100 pandas in China in the 1980s. Today, there are about 2,000 in the wild and several hundred more in zoos, and pandas have moved from endangered to vulnerable.
Meanwhile, San Diego’s famous zoo has said it will also receive two pandas later this year, San Francisco also plans to receive pandas but has not yet decided when, and Atlanta has four pandas due to return by the end of the year.
