AP Spotlight
- San Diego Zoo
Meet giant panda Bai Yun's sixth panda cub, and see what benchmarks veterinarians look for in measuring its health.
WASHINGTON — Two giant pandas are coming to Washington's National Zoo from China by the end of the year.
The zoo made the announcement Wednesday, about half a year after it sent its three pandas back to China.
Giant pandas are icons in Washington, D.C., and beloved around the nation and the world.
Pandas have long been the symbol of the U.S.-China friendship since Beijing gifted a pair to the National Zoo in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. Later, Beijing loaned the pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to panda conservation programs.
However, the number of pandas in American zoos dwindled as loan agreements lapsed during U.S.-Chinese diplomatic tensions that remain high over economic relations, technology, trade, Taiwan and even a spy balloon.
Government-politics
US lawmakers vow to bolster Taiwan’s defense with bipartisan visit days after China’s ‘punishment’ military drills
- By Nectar Gan, CNN
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said theincomingpair of pandas are Bao Li (pronounced BOW'-lee) and Qing Bao (ching-BOW').
The institute created and formore than five decades maintained one of the world's foremost giant panda conservation programs, helping move the panda from "endangered" to "vulnerable" on the global list of species at risk of extinction.
Two weeks ago, the Chinese Embassy in Washington held an event for a video series about friendship between people in China and the U.S., and Brandie Smith, the zoo's director, gave an emotional speech recounting her experience with giant pandas.
Duringa trip to the U.S. in late 2023 for a summit of Indo-Pacific leaders and meeting with President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled China would send new pandas to the U.S. He called them "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."
"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas and went to the zoo to see them off," Xi said in his speech, adding that he learned the San Diego Zoo and people in California "very much look forward to welcoming pandas back."
The zoo accompanied the announcement with a lighthearted video featuring Smith, Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III and first lady Jill Biden. The trio in the video are gathered to discuss protocol for a reception to welcome unidentified honored guests. When Biden asks about attire and menu, Smith dryly replies that the impending guests are "strict vegetarians" who are "partial to black and white."
Last November, giant pandas Tian Tian and Mei Xiang and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, went back to China, prompting a nationwide outpouring of farewell from millions of U.S. panda fans of all ages. The trio's departure left only one panda family remaining in American zoos—Lun Lun and Yang Yang along with their American-born twins Ya Lun and Xi Lunat Zoo Atlanta— and those remain scheduled to return to China later this year.
Zoo Atlanta is making preparations to return panda parents zoo officials said earlier this month. There was no date for the transfer, they said, but it likely willhappen between October and December.
Government-politics
China’s military shows off rifle-toting robot dogs
- By Brad Lendon and Nectar Gan, CNN
It's possible that America will welcome another new panda pair before the Atlanta bears depart. The San Diego Zoo said last month that staff members recently traveled to China to meet pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, which could arrive in California as soon as this summer.
A separate agreement also wasannounced to send a breeding pair of pandas to San Francisco.
The National Zoo said the pandas coming to Washington are:
- Bao Li, a 2-year-old male whose name means "treasure" and "energetic." He was born Aug. 4, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan to father An An and mother Bao Bao. The zoo said Bao Li's mother was born at the zoo in 2013, and his grandparents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang lived at the zoo from 2000 to 2023. It was Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, along with their cub Xiao Qi Ji, who left the zoo in November.
- Qing Bao, a 2-year-old female whose name means "green" and "treasure." She was born Sept. 12, 2021.
The zoo said the new pandas will be quarantined in the panda house for a minimum of 30 days upon their arrival.
A research and breeding agreement with the Chinese runs through April 2034 and, like previous ones, says any cubs born at the zoo will move to China by age 4, according to the announcement. The zoo will pay a $1 million annual fee to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support research and conservation efforts in China.
Photos: Pandas explore habitat at Berlin Zoo
Tags
- Dcc
- Wire
- Lee-national
'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.setAttribute('src', 'https://assets.revcontent.com/master/delivery.js'); document.body.appendChild(s); window.removeEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); __tnt.log('Load Rev Content'); } } }, 100); window.addEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); }
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
