WASHINGTON — We don't mean to cause panda-monium but we have big news—The giant pandas will return to the District.
The zoo will once again be home to two giant pandas named Qing Bao (ching-BOW) and Bao Li (BOW-lee) by the end of 2024. Qing Bao is a female panda born Sept. 12, 2021 and Bao Li is a male panda born Aug. 4, 2021.
First Lady Jill Biden announced the panda return, alongside Smithsonian Director Lonnie Bunch, in a video shared on YouTube Wednesday.
One of the new pandas that will be sent to the National Zoo already has some ties to the District.
"Bao Li is actually the cub of Bao Bao who was our cub born in 2018," Zookeeper Mariel Lally said. "So he is the grandchild of Mai Xieng and Tien Tien.”
Ambassador Xie Feng of the People’s Republic of China spoke with staff at the Smithsonian National Zoo to provide an update on the future of the giant panda conservation program.
“China is ready to continue its cooperation with the United States on panda conservation,” Ambassador Feng said.
Officials say the goal is to raise $25 million to secure the panda's future at the zoo and to protect the bear species and mountain forest habitats it calls home. While federal resources cover the zoo's essential needs for the animals, the remainder of their operating budget — including the giant panda conservation program — comes from the support of visitors, members and donors.
The return of pandas to D.C. comes after the region said goodbye to Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi in November. All three giant pandas were sent back to China as diplomatic tensions ran high between Beijing and several Western governments. China appeared to be gradually pulling back its pandas from multiple Western zoos as their agreements expired in fall 2023.
"We were always optimistic -- we knew this program would continue," Brandie Smith Director of the National Zoo said.
All three bears were part of a program committed to giant panda conservation at the zoo. For the 50+ years giant pandas remained in D.C., they became a symbol of "cross-cultural collaboration" between Chinese and American people.
“Our number one goal is to make more giant pandas," Smith said of the next crop of pandas. "So everybody who is looking forward to panda cubs, I can promise that’s something we are interested in doing.”
Exctiment for the new pandas percolated across the Zoo Wednesday. People took pictures with the panda signs that read: "The Pandas are Coming!"
“It's exciting to see them come back," DC native Devin Dines said. "Like I said, I grew up with them.”
But there did seem to be a political shadow looming, with Ambassador Feng seemingly veering into political waters when discussing the return of the pandas. He mentioned that protectionism of the planet should be the focus of U.S.-China relations.
“The U.S. and China should be friends, not rivals," he said.
The Associated Press reports that the decades of conservation efforts in the wild and captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing the population from fewer than 1,000 to more than 1,800 in the wild and in captivity.
As far as when pandas will be back in Washington, there is no precise timeline, but it's expected to happen before the end of 2024.
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