China for the first time in more than two decades is sending pandas to the United States to the delight of the San Diego Zoo, which is preparing to receive a pair that could include a female descendent of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, two of the zoo’s former residents that were among the most reproductively successful panda mates in captivity.
China for the first time in more than two decades is sending pandas to the United States to the delight of the San Diego Zoo, which is preparing to receive a pair that could include a female descendent of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, two of the zoo’s former residents that were among the most reproductively successful panda mates in captivity.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association said Thursday it also signed agreements with the zoo in the Spanish capital of Madrid, and is in talks with zoos in Washington, D.C., and Vienna, quelling fears that Beijing was ending its historic panda diplomacy with Western nations due to diplomatic tensions.
“We look forward to further expanding the research outcomes on the conservation of endangered species such as giant pandas, and promoting mutual understanding and friendship among peoples through the new round of international cooperation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing.
The partnership will include research on disease prevention and habitat protection and contribute to China’s national panda park construction, the organization said.
The black-and-white bears have long been the symbol of the U.S.-China friendship since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. China later loaned pandas to zoos to help breed cubs and boost the population.
But only four giant pandas remain in the United States, all at the zoo in Atlanta, after China did not renew loan agreements at three other zoos in San Diego, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, in recent years.
