You can finally see the new giant pandas at the National Zoo! Bao Li and Qing Bao made their long-awaited and highly anticipated public debut Friday morning.
“Our male [Bao Li] is a little bit more gregarious and outgoing. He is really in tune with what the keepers are doing, sort of waiting for that next meal. He loves his bamboo,” said Michael Brown-Palsgrove, curator of giant pandas and Asia Trail. “Our female [Qing Bao] is a little bit more independent and reserved. She’s very confident.”
A joyful opening ceremony included remarks from Smithsonian officials, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng. Kindergarten students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School sang a song and read a poem while wearing panda hats, and the Crush Funk Brass Band performed next to a Panda mascot as the exhibit gates were officially opened.
“We are so excited to welcome the pandas back, and especially, more importantly, to welcome our fans back to see the pandas,” said Stephanie Brinley, Deputy Director at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI). “This has been a long time coming, but these pandas are amazing. They’re engaging, and they’re excited to see people.”
“Once they came here, the pandas had to do a lot of work getting used to things. But it’s been relatively seamless,” said Bryan Amaral, NZCBI Senior Curator. “It’s been really fun to watch the bears get used to their new home in DC, and also watch the relationships develop between keepers and the bears.”
The pandas had been in quarantine since arriving in D.C. in October via the FedEx Panda Express. They will stay at the National Zoo until 2034. Tickets to the zoo are free. Guests can buy parking passes online for $30.
For those who can’t say hello in person, the Giant Panda Cam relaunched on Friday.
Visitors decked out in panda gear began visiting the bears as soon as the zoo opened. Superfan Carol Loveless took the train from Delaware for the public debut and she can already tell Bao Li and Qing Bao apart.
“Qing Bao is smaller than Bao Li. She’s the little girl. One of them has a thicker saddle and one of them has a thin saddle,” she said. “We will be here tomorrow. We will be here Sunday. We will be here Monday to see them.”
Spot the difference? How to tell the new pandas apart
The black-and-white bears can look pretty similar at first glance, but the Smithsonian Magazine has some tips for telling the new pandas apart.
Off the bat, Bao Li, a 3-year-old boy, is bigger than Qing Bao.
But here are some other key markers the magazine pointed out:
- Qing Bao has two round, dark-colored birthmarks on her left backside
- Qing Bao has fluffier cheeks than Bao Li
- Bao Li’s eye patches are wider and have pointy tips that flare out more than Qing Bao
- The black band across Bao Li’s back is thicker and down his middle; Qing Bao’s is thinner and higher
Of course, their personalities are a bit different, too. According to the Smithsonian, Bao Li is “playful” and “attention-seeking,” but Qing Bao is more reserved and independent.
Bao Li has roots in D.C. He’s the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the D.C. zoo in 2013.
DC’s panda drought is over
The zoo’s previous beloved bears, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji, were returned to China in November 2023.
The new bears didn’t arrive until 11 months later, causing some fear in the interim that the partnership between the two countries to exchange the animals in the name of conservation was a thing of the past.
While the wait may have felt unbearable to some, panda-lovers rejoiced at the bears’ return to D.C. in October, cheering them on as their police-escorted motorcade drove into the National Zoo on Oct. 15, 2024.
Over the last several months, the zoo has been helping Bao Li and Qing Bao get used to the smells and sounds of crowds. Part of that has involved some zoo members visiting the panda enclosure, which was renovated in their absence.
They’ve been playing in the snow and enjoying lots of bamboo, zookeepers said.
A lesson in panda history
The National Zoo became the first zoo in the U.S. to take part in what’s become known as “panda diplomacy” when a pair of pandas from China arrived at the zoo in 1972.
In the decades since, the Chinese government has lent pandas to zoos worldwide.
But, in recent years, China opted to not renew some of those agreements. Pandas from D.C. and San Diego were among those to fly back to China, with no plans for new bears to return in their place.
Ultimately, China agreed to send back new pandas to California, D.C. and Spain — squashing fears about threats to panda diplomacy.
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