Happy birthday, Xiao Qi Ji! The Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant panda cub turned 3 years old Monday, and to celebrate, zoo leadership presented him with a special birthday treat: a frozen fruitsicle cake, adorned with the number three and filled with his favorite panda-friendly foods.
The cake was made of diluted apple and pineapple juices and “frosted” with a mixture of mashed sweet potatoes, mashed carrots, and honey, then decorated with apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, and bamboo sprigs.
This will be the final birthday that Xiao Qi Ji will celebrate in Washington, DC. He and his parents will leave the zoo and return to China by December.
Xiao Qi Ji was born on August 21, 2020, to parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Mei Xiang was 22 when she gave birth to Xiao Qi Ji, making her the oldest panda to give birth in the United States and the second oldest in the world.
His name, which was the result of a public vote, means “little miracle” in Mandarin.
Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived at the zoo in 2000 as part of a breeding and research agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Association that allowed the zoo to temporarily house the pandas while they remained under China’s ownership. While it was originally a 10-year deal, it has been extended three times since 2010.
The Smithsonian Zoo announced in 2020 that the agreement would conclude on December 7, 2023, and the pandas would return to China.
The agreement stipulated that both partners would conduct cooperative research projects, that the zoo would pay $500,000 per year to support conservation efforts in China, and that any cubs at the zoo would be allowed to stay until age 4 before being sent to China to join the breeding program.
Xiao Qi Ji was the fourth surviving cub born under the program, following Tai Shan in 2005, Bao Bao in 2013, and Bei Bei in 2015. The other three cubs born at the zoo went to China at age 4.
The zoo also celebrated Mei Xiang’s 25th birthday on July 22 and will celebrate Tian Tian’s 26th birthday on August 27. To wish the pandas goodbye, the zoo will host a “farewell celebearation” called Panda Palooza between September 23 and October 1.
Zoo visitors can view the giant pandas in their enclosure or via the zoo’s live Giant Panda Cam until their departure. Admission to the zoo is free, but entry passes are required.
Feature image of Xiao Qi Ji by Skip Brown, courtesy Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
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