Let the panda-monium begin.
The National Zoo’s newest pair of 3-year-old giant pandas — male Bao Li and female Qing Bao — landed Tuesday morning at Washington Dulles International Airport.
They are the first new pandas to arrive in the District since 2000, when Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who returned to China in 2023, moved into the zoo. They flew out of China on Monday evening on board a FedEx Boeing airplane dubbed the “Panda Express.”
The zoo, run by the Smithsonian Institution, was closed Tuesday, though visitors would not be able to see the pandas even if it were open. The standard procedure is to quarantine the new arrivals for at least 30 days so that they do not introduce diseases or parasites to other animals. However, Bao Li and Qing Bao will still have access to areas within the zoo’s panda house.
After the pandas undergo quarantine and have some weeks to settle in, they will be introduced to the public and the “panda cams” in their enclosure will turn back on, the National Zoo said.
A pair of zookeepers and veterinarians from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda will aid National Zoo staff in getting the pair acclimated.
In 1972, the 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.
Some felt bamboozled by last year’s 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 less-tense political environment.
• Sean Salai contributed to this story.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Bao Li and Qing Bao are the first new pandas to arrive in the U.S. since 2000.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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