Two giant pandas, 3-year-old male Bao Li and 3-year-old female Qing Bao, have arrived from China. The duo will soon move into their new long-term home at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The pandas will quarantine and spend the next few months adapting to their new surroundings before the public can visit them in January.
Bao Li
Qing Bao
The pandas arrived Tuesday morning at Dulles International Airport in a special panda-clad plane, then entered a panda-clad truck the rest of the way to the zoo. FedEx assisted the zoo with transportation.
The National Zoo has a long history of holding pandas. The tradition began in 1972 when two giant pandas were gifted to the zoo to commemorate President Nixon’s visit to China. The zoo most recently hosted a trio of pandas before they departed in Nov. 2023. These three pandas were Bao Li’s grandparents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and uncle Xiao Qi Ji. Bao Li’s mother Bao Bao was born in Washington in 2013 before returning to China in 2017.
The pandas will remain at the zoo for 10 years, and any cubs born at the zoo will be returned to China.
The pandas’ renovated exhibit will open to the public on Jan. 24, with zoo members getting a preview from Jan. 10 to Jan. 19. You can register to become a member here.
Photos courtesy National Zoo on X
