After a 19-hour journey that included plenty of in-flight bamboo snacks for the trip, D.C.’s erstwhile giant panda trio has safely landed in China.
The National Zoo said the special FedEx “Panda Express” flight that took off from Virginia’s Dulles International Airport Wednesday morning touched down in Chengdu, China, at 11:23 p.m. China Standard Time.
The zoo posted videos on social media showing the special travel crates carrying Tian Tian and Mei Xiang and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, being unloaded from the plane.
Giant pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji being safely unloaded in their specialized travel crates from the @FedEx Panda Express after landing in Chengdu. Thanks to our vet who got this special look. #PandaStory @smithsonian pic.twitter.com/zI7xTK6g9v
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) November 9, 2023
The National Zoo said a small team of personnel who accompanied the bears on the flight will stay for a few days “as the pandas get settled,” and begin a 30-day quarantine.
There will be some changes for the pandas ahead compared to their days at the National Zoo in D.C.
Brandie Smith, the director of the National Zoo, said the pandas new home will feature “beautiful habitats” — and some tasty food. “I actually think they’re going to like the bamboo the best. It’s a whole different species of bamboo they’re going to really enjoy.”
But it’s not just the food that will be different.
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“They’re much more hands-on in their care style, like actually, literally hands-on in China. And so, with our animals, when they were growing up, we were preparing them for a life in China. So we’ve been very hands-on, very interactive with these animals,” Smith said.
For baby cubs like Xiao Qi Ji, that means holding them as babies and being hands-on during exams. But for older, adult pandas, you can’t just go into their habitats with them.
“But we’re very interactive with them … scratching them through the mesh, or making sure (when) touching them when we do a blood draw or any of our other procedures,” said Smith.
Which then begs the question — which very, very few of us know the answer to — what does a panda feel like?
“A lot of people think giant pandas would be silky soft, but they’re not,” said Smith. “They’re adapted for their environment. They live in a cold, harsh environment. They’ve got to be protected from it. I compare them to sheep. So if anybody’s ever felt a sheep, they feel like a sheep.”
When you consider that wild pandas tend to live in mountainous, forested areas, this makes sense.
“It’s tough, woolly, wiry, but it’s still fun to touch them,” said Smith, with a smile.
The panda program from China has been used for diplomacy. In recent years, China has lent out pandas to Russia and Qatar. But diplomatic relations with the United States have been a little rockier, and China has begun gradually withdrawing its giant pandas from zoos in the U.S. and Europe.
But Smith, who repeatedly touted the success of the 50-year conservation program, which saw giant pandas improve from the endangered species list to what’s considered “a vulnerable species,” remains hopeful.
“I can’t imagine Washington, D.C. without giant pandas,” said Smith. “And we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to bring giant pandas back to the zoo.”
