The Washington National Zoo is new Giant Panda The zoo called off the plan by the end of the year, about six months after sending the three pandas back to China.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute was formerly Mei Xiang and Tian TianThe two pandas had been loaned out from China for research and breeding programs. The zoo said in a news release that the two pandas and their baby, Xiao Qizhi, will not be returning, but visitors will be able to meet Baoli and Qinbao soon.
Bao Li, a two-year-old giant panda, is the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.
Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
The second panda, Qinbao, is also two years old.
Roshan Patel of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Both cubs were born at the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center and will be transported to the US by FedEx, which has previously shipped pandas between the US and China.
The return of the pandas will also mark the return of the zoo’s PandaCam, allowing people around the world to follow what the pandas are doing in real time, said Smithsonian Institution Executive Director Lonnie G. Bunch.
Pandas were first sent to Washington, D.C., in 1972 to help breed and keep the species alive. In a video shared on social media announcing the pandas’ return, the zoo’s Brandy Smith called the program “one of our greatest conservation success stories.”
During the program’s existence, only a few zoos hosted pandas, including the National Zoo, the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, and the San Diego Zoo in California. The three zoos returned their pandas when their loan agreements expired and diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China rose. The last remaining pandas in the U.S. are at Zoo Atlanta, Expected to return From October to December, I went to China.
A new pair of pandas Will be sent to the San Diego Zoo The move is expected to take effect as early as the end of this summer. Madrid ZoosThe company has an agreement with the Vienna Zoo in Spain and is in negotiations with the Vienna Zoo in Austria.
Pandas have long been a symbol of friendship between the United States and China since the first panda was sent to the National Zoo in 1972, prior to the normalization of relations between the two countries. The zoo also helps breed and increase the panda population.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are just over 1,800 pandas left in the wild and although breeding programs are increasing their numbers, the species’ survival is still considered to be under serious threat.
According to a 2022 report by the Congressional Research Service, the zoo typically pays a yearly fee of $1 million for two pandas, with the money going towards conservation efforts in China.
