The pandas have landed! Here's what you need to know about their return to DC
By ASHRAF KHALIL
Associated Press,
5 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Washington's newest power couple, Bao Li and Qing Bao, are settling into their new home at the National Zoo. The giant pandas will remain off-limits through early next year, when the zoo will unveil its newly renovated panda house to the public.
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute staff put on a media event Wednesday regarding the arrival of two giant pandas from China, male Bao Li and female Qing Bao, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
When can we see them?
Not for a while. The bears will undergo several weeks of quarantine and medical checks as they slowly acclimate to their new environment. In addition to the zoo's small army of caretakers and panda experts, a keeper and veterinarian from China accompanied the bears and will be staying in Washington for about a month.
The zoo has set Jan. 24 as the public debut of the pandas, with a public celebration of the new arrivals from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9. Zoo members will have a chance to reserve tickets for a preview between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19.
How are they getting along?
Not at all, so far. But that's by design.
The 3-year-old bears basically met for the first time while they were being transported from China and are being kept apart at the National Zoo. It's consistent with normal panda behavior in the wild. Adult pandas live in almost completely solitude and only really interact with adult females during the 48-hour annual period when the female is receptive to breeding.
The panda enclosure at the zoo is built so that Bao Li and Qing Bao can happily lead entirely separate lives. Panda mothers and their cubs generally stay together for about two years before separating.
What do they eat?
Pandas are pure herbivores and enjoy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. But their absolute staple is large quantities of bamboo. Without enough bamboo in their diets, pandas can become ill quickly.
Ground crew personnel walk up to a FedEx cargo plane carrying giant pandas from China after it landed Tuesday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
The zoo gets its bamboo supplies from its partner facility, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and from about 15 stands in the greater Washington, D.C., area. And no, private individuals cannot donate bamboo.
Panda Babies?!?
Relax, let's all give them a little privacy, for now.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are both 3 years old and about two years away from sexual maturity. The pair were chosen for their genetic compatibility, but pandas are notoriously fussy about mating and there's no guarantee that nature will simply take its course. If necessary, the medical staff at the zoo have deep experience with artificial insemination and used the procedure to successfully produce Xiao Qi Ji in 2020.
Is that bear a nepo baby?
Technically yes, although it's unclear whether having parents in the industry gives a panda a leg up in the market. Bao Li is the child and grandchild of previous National Zoo pandas.
Zoo Atlanta’s last four giant pandas will be moved to China next month, as its 25-year agreement with the country comes to an end. The zoo's president and CEO says the city will miss the animals and that it's been the zoo's privilege to be able to share the pandas with all for the past 25 years. The facility plans a “Panda-Palooza” event on Oct. 5 to wish the animals farewell. The move comes after the National Zoo in Washington returned three pandas to China last November. Other American zoos have sent pandas back to China as loan agreements lapsed amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
His grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, returned to China last year along with his young uncle Xiao Qi Ji. His mother, Bao Bao, was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and sent to China in 2017 as part of the zoo's agreement with the Chinese government. Bao Bao gave birth to Bao Li and his twin brother, Bao Yuan, in China in August 2021.
What about the Panda Cam?
The wildly popular Panda Cam will restart Jan. 24, with 40 cameras tracking the bears' movements. The livestream will broadcast 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and rebroadcast the day's footage overnight. The zoo has beefed up its electronic infrastructure in anticipation of the expected crush of online pandaphiles. A massive wave of onlookers basically overloaded the Smithsonian's servers when Xiao Qi Ji was born on camera in 2020.
A zoo in Finland has agreed to return two loaned giant pandas to China eight years early because they are too expensive for the facility to maintain. The private Ähtäri Zoo said the female Lumi and male Pyry will return to China later this year. The pandas were a gift from China in 2017, and they were supposed to be on loan until 2033. But since then the zoo has seen a decline in visitors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The zoo built a special facility for the pandas and their upkeep costs the zoo some 1.5 million euros annually.
Zoo Director Brandie Smith said they considered starting the cam early before the bears made their public debut. The zoo, however, "wanted to give the pandas and the keepers extra time to get to know each other without the world watching," Smith said.
What is the zoo's agreement with China?
The National Zoo has signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Chinese authorities under which it annually pays half a million dollars per bear. Any cubs born in overseas facilities incur an additional fee, and the cubs are sent to China to take part in panda conservation and breeding programs there before they reach age 4.
What's new at the panda exhibit?
The National Zoo has been busy during the 11 months since the previous occupants — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji — returned to China in November. The outdoor panda enclosure looks largely the same, with some fresh fences and a new wooden climbing feature added. The real changes are indoors, where the zoo launched a multi-million dollar upgrade and renovation even before the latest cooperative agreement was struck to bring giant pandas back to Washington, D.C.
COPYRIGHT 2024 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute staff put on a media event Wednesday regarding the arrival of two giant pandas from China, male Bao Li and female Qing Bao, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
COPYRIGHT 2024 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Ground crew personnel walk up to a FedEx cargo plane carrying giant pandas from China after it landed Tuesday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
COPYRIGHT 2024 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
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