Topline
The National Zoo is preparing for the arrival of two new giant pandas named Qing Bao and Bao Li later this year, ending a six-month panda drought after the D.C.-based zoo sent back its remaining three pandas to China last year—following negotiations with Chinese officials.
Key Facts
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. announced Wednesday its giant panda exhibit—which has sat empty for six months—will house two new pandas by the end of the year.
The pandas are a part of an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, which loaned the pandas to the U.S. in exchange for a $1 million annual fee that will go toward “animal research and conservation efforts in China.”
Qing Bao (which means green treasure) is a two-year-old female born on Sept. 21, 2021 at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, to her father Qing Qing and mother Jia Mei.
Bao Li (which means treasure energetic) is the two-year-old son of An An and Bao Bao, a female panda born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in 2013 who is now living in China, and was born on Aug. 4, 2021 at the CCRCP.
FedEx will once again use its Boeing 777-Freighter, known as the “FedEx Panda Express,” and serve as the National Zoo’s shipping partner, transporting Bao Li and Qing Bao from China to D.C.
Though their public debut date hasn’t been announced, the pandas have to quarantine for at least 30 days upon arrival as part of a routine practice to prevent the spread of new disease, and then they’ll settle into their new habitat for a few weeks before the public can visit them, according to the National Zoo’s announcement.
Big Number
$25 million. That’s how much money in public donations the National Zoo is seeking to support the pandas during their 10-year stay.
Key Background
Giant pandas are native to China, and the country houses most of the world’s captive pandas. There are as few as 1,864 living in the wild, and around 600 living in captivity in zoos and breeding centers around the world. The CWCA loans the bears to countries, and the National Zoo had a 50-year panda program that came to an end last year after three giant pandas—Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their youngest cub, Xiao Qi Ji—were sent back to China. The end of the program sparked questions about the U.S. and China’s already muddled relationship, with some experts calling it a shift in China’s approach to “panda diplomacy.” The existence of pandas in the U.S. has played a symbolic role in the U.S. and China’s relationship since formal ties were set in 1972 during President Richard Nixon’s trip to China. China gifted the U.S. its first pandas that same year after former First Lady Patricia Nixon told Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai about her love of pandas during the trip. There are still four giant pandas in the U.S. at Zoo Atlanta, though the zoo’s contract has expired, and the pandas are set to return to China sometime this year.
Tangent
The San Diego Zoo will also get two new giant pandas sometime this year. Yun Chun is a five-year-old male, whose mother Zhen Zhen was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007. Xin Bao is a four-year-old female, who the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance described as “a gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears.” Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted at returning pandas to California during a trip to the U.S. in November. He called the bears “envoys of friendship,” adding the Chinese government is ready to “continue our cooperation” with the U.S. regarding panda conversation.
Further Reading
Chinese President Hints Pandas May Return To U.S. (Forbes)
Two Giant Pandas Are Coming To San Diego Zoo From China As Diplomatic Gesture Resumes (Forbes)
National Zoo Pandas Leaving D.C. For China—Ending A Program Nixon Started 51 Years Ago (Forbes)
