Two new giant pandas from China have arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo Tuesday, nearly a year after the D.C. zoo’s exhibit was devastatingly vacated.
The coveted black-and-white bears are settling into their new home, exploring the zoo’s panda house (which is stocked with a bamboo feast) after a 19-hour journey from a research facility in southwest China, according to a news release from the National Zoo.
The panda motorcade, escorted by police, formed a procession as it made its way from Dulles Airport to the District, with spectators lining the street and clapping as the trucks rounded the corner toward the zoo’s direction.
Two trucks carrying Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3 years old, pulled into the zoo’s entrance just before noon on Tuesday.
Among those welcoming the pandas at the zoo’s entrance Tuesday was Nan Aron, who visits there once a week.
“They have such a gentle spirit and a playful spirit,” Aron told WTOP. “I work with preschoolers and they’re just like little kids. They just love to play and interact with each other and just have fun.”
It’s been 11 months since three of the cherished bears left the District, leaving D.C.-area panda lovers in a lurch as an agreement between China and the U.S. expired.
“It was like missing your best friends, and now they’re back,” Aron said.
With the new pandas’ arrival, Aron and other visitors will no longer have to bear the pain of a panda-less National Zoo.
It marks the continuation of the giant panda conservation program partnership between China and the U.S.
When can you come see the pandas?
The bears’ arrival comes after officials announced their travel plans to the U.S. Monday. — prompting panda-monium over the bears’ much-anticipated return to the nation’s capital.
The Smithsonian National Zoo is closed Tuesday to help ease the bears arrival.
Panda lovers will have to hold off for a couple of months before they can visit the unbearably adorable bears.
It’s standard policy to quarantine the pandas for at least 30 days to lower the risk of the bears introducing parasites or disease to the zoo’s other animals.
“Animal care staff will provide the pandas with a variety of enrichment items to keep them active and encourage them to explore their new environment,” a news release from the zoo said.
The pair of bears will also need to get used to the smells and sounds that come with crowds.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are expected to make their public debut on Jan. 24, 2025. The zoo will have special events and programs to celebrate the bears from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9. Those public celebrations won’t require a reservation.
The zoo’s panda habitat, bird house and Asia trail will be closed for the next several months until the bears are open to the public.
The famed Giant Panda Cam will relaunch on Jan. 24, 2025 too, with new cameras thanks to upgrades done after the previous panda residents left. The livestream will go from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. every day.
If you’re a zoo member, you can get a look at the pandas a little early. Starting in mid-December, you can sign up for free timed-entry passes for a panda preview. That early-access period goes from Jan. 10-19, 2025.
In the meantime, your best bet at seeing the pandas will be keeping up with the zoo’s social media and checking its website.
What we know about Bao Li and Qing Bao
The “Panda Express” — a FedEx Boeing 777 cargo jet carrying the bears from China — touched ground in Northern Virginia at around 10 a.m.
On the tarmac at Dulles, a crew of people who sported bright yellow vests labeled “FedEx Panda Team,” helped unload large crates with the precious panda cargo. A conveyor belt-style device moved the crates off the Panda Express and onto trucks.
From there the procession headed to the zoo where a forklift moved the crates carrying the pandas to the panda habitat.
It marked the endpoint of a 8,000-mile trip that began in southeast China.
Their flight to U.S. was stocked with snacks, such as bamboo shoots and carrots, as well as medications in hand, according to the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Staff with the National Zoo flew with the pandas to make sure they had a safe and comfortable journey, according to the zoo.
Last May, the National Zoo announced the two pandas would be transported to the zoo by the end of 2024.
They’re the first pair of pandas China has sent to D.C. in 24 years.
One of the pandas who arrived Tuesday is a descendant of the Smithsonian’s former “panda family.” Bao Li is the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the D.C. zoo in 2013.
“He reminds me a lot of his grandfather, Tian Tian,” panda keeper Mariel Lally told CNN. She is escorting Bao Li and Qing Bao to D.C.
11 months of despair for DC with no pandas
On the afternoon of Nov. 8, 2023, beloved bears Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji boarded the “Panda Express” at Dulles.
The three bears flew 19 hours to the Wolong Panda Reserve in Chengdu, China. It was a tough goodbye for zoo staff and fans, with uncertainty about whether the black-and-white bears would ever return.
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian first arrived at the National Zoo in December 2000. In 2020, Mei Xiang gave birth to Xiao Qi Ji, becoming the oldest panda in the U.S. to give birth.
The zoo’s panda exhibit brought in millions of visitors each year. But it’s been unoccupied since November. In the panda’s absence, the zoo upgraded the enclosure, making improvements to help visitors get a clearer view of the pandas among other changes.
‘Panda diplomacy’ in a black-and-white world
The National Zoo was the first zoo in the U.S. to take part in what’s become known as “panda diplomacy.”
When a mass exodus of pandas over the past couple of years took place, as panda leases between U.S. zoos and China expired, some feared the partnerships were coming to a close.
But around the time the Smithsonian’s pandas departed last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that China would send new pandas to the U.S., calling them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”
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