Pandas leave Washington, D.C National Zoo after staying over 20 years, taken to China

Much adored giant pandas have departed from the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. after staying in the United States for more than two decades. These pandas will return to China, according to reports.

Having spent 23 years in the US, the pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji are embarking on their journey back to China. The relocation process will involve the use of forklifts to transfer the pandas into FedEx trucks, as reported by CBS News. Subsequently, they will be transported to Dulles International Airport and loaded onto the "FedEx Panda Express," a Boeing 777F aircraft featuring a custom decal, as per a USA Today report.

This move follows the return of pandas from zoos in Memphis and San Diego to China. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Zoo has announced that their pandas, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, will be returning at the beginning of 2024, as per the report.


The pandas, accompanied by three zookeepers, will travel to a reserve in China’s mountainous Sichuan province, where an estimated 1,800 pandas are still found in the wild, according to the National Zoo.

Zoo director Brandie Smith choked back tears at a brief ceremony ending more than a half century in which pandas have been residents.

Mei Xiang, 25, and Tian Tian, 26, arrived at the National Zoo in 2000. Their first three cubs, born between 2005 and 2015, are thriving in China. Xiao Qi Ji - “Little Miracle” in English - was born three years ago, making his mother the oldest giant panda ever to give birth in the US.

Pandas live about 30 years under human care, but about 15-to-20 years in the wild, the zoo said on its website.

The trio, made famous by the zoo's "Giant Panda Cam" with more than 100 million views, were part of a fading legacy in which giant pandas served as animal ambassadors.

It began in 1972, when the government of China presented two giant pandas as gifts to the US after President Richard Nixon's historic Cold War visit to the communist country.

Except for the initial gifts, giant pandas have been leased to US zoos under contracts with the China Wildlife Conservation. In recent years, such contracts have not been extended.

FAQs

Q1. When will three pandas leave National Zoo in Washington, D.C.?
A1. Three pandas have left National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Q2. What will be the destination of these pandas?
A2. The destination of these pandas is China.