In an elaborate announcement video, First Girl Jill Biden broke the information that she’s anticipating—the return of large pandas to the Nationwide Zoo.
Following a chronic interval of diplomatic stress with China, all however one zoo within the nation was panda-less, however after signing a brand new 10-year lease settlement for the aim of scientific analysis, bettering relations, and delighting guests, D.C. is about to have a brand new pair of pandas by the top of this yr.
2-year-old Bao Li is the son of Bao Bao, the feminine panda born on the zoo in 2013 to folks who left final yr after tensions between the US and China reached a fever pitch.
Bao Li shall be joined by Qing Bao, a 2-year-old feminine who’s believed to be a doable breeding companion.
Arriving by way of FedEx’s particular ‘Panda Specific’ airline which has been transporting pandas internationally for 15 years, Chinese language ambassador Xie Feng dubbed the duo “our new envoys of friendship.”
Washingtonians and guests to our nation’s capital from throughout the nation could have 10 years to see them below an settlement that may see the Nationwide Zoo pay a $1 million each year lease payment—100% of which matches to panda conservation in China.
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“We’ll have a couple of years simply to take pleasure in these two, after which individuals can begin asking about cubs,” Nationwide Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute director Brandie Smith informed Axios.
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‘Panda Diplomacy’ by China dates again to late Maoist rule in China, when First Girl Nancy Reagan informed the nation of the arrival of the primary large pandas in an American zoo in 1972 after she and her husband’s historic go to to Beijing.
Removed from being only a technique of warming relations, China’s cooperation with zoos internationally has yielded a few of the most vital discoveries in panda biology, which have knowledgeable conservation and captivity methods at dwelling.
WATCH the announcement video beneath…
It’s official: the pandas are coming to D.C.!
Alongside @FLOTUS, we’re thrilled to announce that by the top of this yr, the Zoo will as soon as once more be dwelling to 2 large pandas. #DCPandas pic.twitter.com/BGJjjaUVve
— Nationwide Zoo (@NationalZoo) Might 29, 2024
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