If you’re excited to see the newest pandas at the National Zoo, you’re going to have to wait until January — but if you want to see a panda cub in D.C., you’ll have to wait even longer.
Two pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at the D.C. zoo to crowds of adoring fans last week.
Both pandas are 3 years old and are not capable of breeding yet. Breeding maturity starts somewhere between 4 and 7 years old. Though the National Zoo’s Deputy Director Stephanie Brinley told WTOP “each panda is unique.”
“They’re still young pandas, and so they haven’t reached breeding age yet,” said Brinley. “We’ve got a couple of years before we have to worry about that,” said Brinley
The National Zoo’s breeding program has successfully produced four cubs over the past twenty years. But even when the pandas mature, they are notoriously hard to breed.
Dr. James Steeil is a veterinarian with the National Zoo and said females may only be in heat for just around two days every year.
“If you miss that window, you’re out of luck until the next year,” Steeil said. “This is a species that is incredibly difficult because they have a very short window of breeding.”
But they said having Bao Li at the Giant Panda Exhibit is a testament to the Smithsonian’s breeding success.
“He is the grandson of Tian Tian and Mei Xiang,” said Steeil. “He is the son of Bao Bao, one of the daughters that we had here. So it is true full circle for us.”
Zoo keepers will instead spend the next few years learning each panda’s behavior and working on bettering their nutrition and acclimating them to their new habitat before they attempt for a new cub.
“I know every single one of us here in (the) Washington, D.C., area, is hoping for baby pandas,” said Brinley. “We’re going to have to wait a little while until they’re ready.”
Both new pandas arrived at the National Zoo from China on Oct. 15. They are currently under a standard quarantine before making their public debut on Jan. 24, 2025.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
