Giant pandas are returning to the National Zoo this week, and officials anticipate large crowds after the cuddly bears acclimate to Washington.
Male Bao Li and female Qing Bao, both 3, are scheduled to land sometime Tuesday on a chartered FedEx Boeing 777 cargo flight from China dubbed the “Panda Express.”
Like earlier generations of Washington pandas, the pair must be quarantined for 30 days upon arrival and then adjust to their new habitat — the animal equivalent of a presidential transition period — before they are introduced to the viewing public.
“We have prepared corn buns, bamboo shoots, carrots, water, and medicine to ensure the pandas’ needs are met during the flight,” the China Wildlife Conservation Association said.
CNN reported that the pandas left a research base in Dujiangyan, China, on Monday to begin a 10-year loan to the Smithsonian National Zoo. The zoo has agreed to pay an annual fee of $1 million to support Chinese panda conversation efforts.
Speaking Monday at a departure ceremony in China, National Zoo Director Brandie Smith praised the Smithsonian’s longtime collaboration with China.
“These beloved black-and-white bears are icons in Washington, D.C., and adored around the world,” Ms. Smith said. “Our team and legions of fans look forward to welcoming Bao Li and Qing Bao to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.”
Zoo officials have not specified when the pandas will make their public debut. The Washington Times has reached out for comment.
In 1972, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo became the first in the U.S. to house giant pandas. Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling arrived in a gift exchange when President Nixon made his breakthrough visit to China at the height of the Cold War, beginning an era of “panda diplomacy” with the communist nation.
The aim of China’s periodic loan of pandas to zoos around the globe is to preserve the species through collaborative research and conservation efforts. As with the Nixon visit, China uses the pandas to build political goodwill — and signal displeasure.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are the first pandas China has sent to Washington in 24 years. Two parents and a cub were returned last year.
Some felt bamboozled by the departure of 26-year-old Tian Tian, 25-year-old Mei Xiang and 3-year-old Xiao Qi Ji as political tension between Beijing and Washington escalated.
Leases to U.S. zoos were set to expire, though they could have easily been extended in a political environment with less pandamonium.
Local moods perked up after the Smithsonian announced in May that China would send a new breeding pair from Sichuan, a province that houses the pandas’ natural habit, the only one in the world, and China’s government-run enclosures.
The National Zoo has been involved in panda breeding and conservation for more than 50 years and has had three pairs of bamboo-chewing behemoths. A new agreement will let the program continue through 2034.
Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling died from age-related illnesses, and Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived in 2000.
Besides the male Xiao Qi Ji, who left last year with his parents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang had three surviving cubs: male Tai Shan, who was sent back to China in 2010 under the terms of the loans; female Bao Bao, who was sent back in 2017; and male Bei Bei, who returned to China in 2019.
Zoo officials say Bao Li, the male panda arriving Tuesday, is Bao Bao’s son.
Under the terms of the agreement, both adults and any eventual offspring belong to China. Any cubs will be sent back to China before age 4.
No one knows how long Bao Li and Qing Bao will remain in Washington. The animals typically live 25 to 30 years in captivity, and a bearish political environment could cut short even that time.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are arriving as the National Zoo completes a million-dollar renovation of the panda exhibit, which has been empty for 11 months.
Giant pandas have drawn millions of visitors to the exhibit over the decades. In recent years, a Giant Panda Cam has attracted millions more to a livestream video of their daily habits.
Visitors of all ages have said the pandas were the highlight of their trip.
With the announcement of two new pandas on May 29, the National Zoo was decorated with promotions to generate buzz.
“I’m really happy they’re coming back,” said Ashlyn Buono, an eighth-grader from New Jersey who was visiting the zoo on a field trip. “I grew up with a giant stuffed panda that our neighbors gave me.”
• Brad Matthews contributed to this report.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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