Feb. 21, 2017, 8 a.m.
Bao Bao will have a final 90 minutes outside to play in her enclosure one last time. She has been separated from her mother for more than a year, and keepers say she will have interaction with other pandas in her new home. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
Feb. 21, 2017, 9:30 a.m.
Bao Bao will go inside, and keepers will put her in a massive travel crate. Panda curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove said keepers have been familiarizing her with the crate, and have been making it a positive space for her by placing her favorite treats inside. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
Feb. 21, 2017, 10:15 a.m.
Using a forklift, keepers will move Bao Bao’s crate slowly up Olmsted Walk to the FedEx truck awaiting her in the bus loading area of the parking lot. Bao Bao enjoyed this cake made by the Department of Nutrition Sciences team. According to the zoo, the cake was made of leaf eater biscuit powder, apple juice, beet juice, grape juice and water. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
Feb. 21, 2017, 11:50 a.m.
Bao Bao and her entourage are expected to arrive at Dulles International Airport, where her keepers will address the press about her transition thus far and the flight ahead. In this box of treats that Bao Bao enjoyed earlier in the week were some of the same items that curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove said will be in her crate: honey water, apples and leaf eater biscuits. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
Feb. 21, 2017, 12 p.m.
The National Zoo will reopen to the public. Keepers say it will be a normal day for Bao Bao’s little brother Bei Bei and their mother Mei Xiang, who have shared an enclosure. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
Feb. 21, 2017, 1:30 p.m.
Bao Bao’s personal FedEx cargo plane will take off for the 16-hour flight to Chengdu, China. One of her zoo keepers and a veterinarian will be her travel companions, on hand to refresh her bamboo and respond to her needs. The keeper will work with his Chinese counterparts to teach them the physical commands he uses to communicate with Bao Bao so that they can do the same. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo
