DC’s National Zoo prepares to say goodbye to pandas returning to China

The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is preparing to say goodbye to its beloved giant pandas, who will return to China after calling the zoo home for more than two decades. 

Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived at the zoo in December 2000 as part of the zoo’s Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The agreement was initially for 10 years but was renewed three times since 2010. 

The agreement’s latest renewal is set to end Dec. 7, 2023, meaning both of the pandas, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, will return to China. Xiao Qi Ji, whose name means “Little Miracle” in Mandarin Chinese, was born was in 2020, after a series of unsuccessful breeding and artificial insemination attempts. 

Mei Xiang also had three other surviving cubs — Bei Bei, Bao Bao and Tai Shan — who were transported to China at different points in the past 13 years.

Starting Saturday, the zoo will kick off its nine-day “Panda Palooza” event, where it will offer panda-themed activities and a chance to say goodbye to the longtime residents. The event is set to run until Oct. 1, the same date that a government shutdown could potentially close the zoo.

The zoo has not indicated if it will be getting more giant pandas, though a statement on the zoo’s website says it “hopes to continue this work in the future.” 

The zoo has housed pandas since 1972, working with China to study the animals’ biology, behavior and diseases. Last year, the zoo marked 50 years since the arrival of its first giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, who went on to spend 20 years together at the zoo. 

Ling-Ling died in 1992 of heart failure at 23 years old, while Hsing-Hsing was euthanized in 1999 after suffering from age-related diseases. 

The partnership was part of China’s ongoing efforts to preserve the species, which were on the endangered species list for more than 25 years until 2016, when the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded its status to “vulnerable.” It was not until 2021 that Chinese officials announced they had also reclassified the species as vulnerable.  

The Hill reached out to the National Zoo for comment.