Expect panda-monium. Two new giant pandas, Bao Li [BOW-lee] and Qing Bao [ching-BOW], are coming to the National Zoo later this year.
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute announced the arrival of the 2-year-old pandas Wednesday morning.
First lady Jill Biden joined Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III and Brandie Smith of the zoo to make the announcement in a video.
Bao Li is related to giant pandas that have lived at the DC zoo. His name means “treasure” and “energetic” in Mandarin Chinese. His mom is Bao Bao, a giant panda born at the zoo in 2013, and his grandparents are Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, the giant pandas that captivated the region from 2000 to 2023. Tian Tian and Mei Xiang returned to China last November.
Bao Bao gave birth to Bao Li on August 4, 2021, in Sichuan at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. Bao Li’s father is An An.
Qing Bao is just a little younger, born on September 12, 2021 to father Qing Qing and mother Jia Mei at the same research facility. Her name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin Chinese.
The National Zoo said Bao Li now lives at the Shenshuping Base in Wolong, while Qing Bao lives at Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan.
The U.S. will have a similar giant panda agreement with China as it has had in the past. The cooperative research and breeding agreement will be in effect through April 2034. The giant pandas and any offspring are owned by China and cubs born at the National Zoo will move to China by the age of 4. The zoo and partners in China will conduct cooperative research projects related to the pandas.
The National Zoo will pay a yearly $1 million fee to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support research and conservation efforts in China. No federal money is used. The zoo is seeking $25 million in public and corporate donations to renovate the giant panda exhibit and cover essential costs.
“We’re thrilled to announce the next chapter of our breeding and conservation partnership begins by welcoming two new bears, including a descendent of our beloved panda family, to Washington, DC,” said Brandie Smith, the zoo’s John and Adrienne Mars director. “This historic moment is proof positive our collaboration with Chinese colleagues has made an irrefutable impact. Through this partnership, we have grown the panda population, advanced our shared understanding of how to care for this beloved bear and learned what’s needed to protect wild pandas and preserve native habitat.”
The National Zoo’s first giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, arrived in 1972, starting the region’s obsession with everything panda.
Feature image of Qing Bao, left, and Bao Li , right, by Roshan Patel/ Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
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