{"id":50023,"date":"2025-01-27T03:38:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T03:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/the-national-zoos-giant-pandas-are-finally-making-their-public-debut\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T03:38:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T03:38:01","slug":"the-national-zoos-giant-pandas-are-finally-making-their-public-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=50023","title":{"rendered":"The National Zoo’s Giant Pandas Are Finally Making Their Public Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Meilan Solly<\/a><\/p>\n

Senior Associate Digital Editor, History<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

After 443 days, Washington, D.C.\u2019s panda drought<\/a> has finally come to an end.<\/p>\n

Beginning this Friday, January 24, giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao<\/a> are officially on view to the public at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute<\/a> (NZCBI). The 3-year-old bears arrived in Washington<\/a> this past October, undergoing a quarantine period before making their debut.<\/p>\n

Bao Li, a male whose name translates to \u201cactive and vital power,\u201d and Qing Bao, a female whose name means \u201cgreen\u201d and \u201ctreasure,\u201d \u201chave already won the hearts of our staff and volunteers,\u201d said NZCBI\u2019s director, Brandie Smith<\/a>, in a statement<\/a> earlier this month, \u201cand we are excited to welcome panda fans back to the Zoo\u2014the only place in the nation where you can see giant pandas for free\u2014and celebrate the newest chapter of our giant panda breeding and conservation program.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Female giant panda Qing Bao in her habitat<\/p>\n

Roshan Patel \/ Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to an NZCBI blog post<\/a>, keepers say Bao Li is \u201cplayful, curious and attention-seeking,\u201d while Qing Bao is more independent and spends much of her time hanging out in trees. When provided with a pile of ice shavings as enrichment, \u201cQing Bao didn\u2019t care about it, but Bao Li loved it,\u201d said keeper Mariel Lally in a separate blog post<\/a>. \u201cHe stomped on it, rolled around in it and pushed his ball over to it. Everything is new to him, so he\u2019s having a lot of fun right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair are the ninth and tenth pandas to call the nation\u2019s capital home, not counting cubs that died before being named or shortly after birth. Longtime NZCBI residents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, along with their youngest son, Xiao Qi Ji<\/a>, moved to China<\/a> in November 2023, fulfilling an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association<\/a> (CWCA), which owns the vast majority<\/a> of pandas held in captivity. The trio\u2019s departure left Washington without pandas<\/a> for the first time in 23 years.<\/p>\n

Under NZCBI\u2019s new agreement<\/a> with the CWCA, Qing Bao and Bao Li will remain in the United States for ten years, until April 2034, in exchange for an annual fee of $1 million. The pair are still too young to breed, as pandas only reach sexual maturity between ages 4 and 7. \u201cKind of picture them as like awkward teenagers right now,\u201d Lally told WUSA9<\/a>. \u201cWe still have about two years before we would probably even see signs that they\u2019re ready to start mating.\u201d<\/p>\n

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National Treasure: The Giant Panda Steals Hearts (and Bamboo) at the National Zoo<\/p>\n

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