What to Know
- A pair of 3-year-old giant pandas arrived at the National Zoo today. The male panda, Bao Li, is the offspring of Bao Bao, who was born in D.C. in 2013.
- FedEx flew the new pair to the United States via a "Panda Express" flight. The pandas' plane touched down at Dulles International Airport at 9:53 a.m. Tuesday.
- Bao Li and Qing Bao took a 25 mile drive to the National Zoo in Northwest DC in special FedEx trucks. They'll spend time in quarantine before debuting to the public in January.
When the National Zoo's last three pandas left for China last fall, it wasn't clear when — or if — D.C. would ever again be home to giant pandas. But ... surprise! In May, officials revealed that China was planning to send a pair of young pandas, and we found out yesterday that their long journey had begun.
A special FedEx flight carrying a pair of 3-year-old pandas lifted off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Monday. They landed Tuesday morning at Dulles International Airport and made a short trek to their new home at the National Zoo in Northwest DC.
Although both pandas — male Bao Li and female Qing Bao — were born in China, Bao Li has some major D.C. roots: He is the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the National Zoo in 2013. That makes him the grandchild of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who lived at the Zoo for about 23 years before moving to China last fall with their youngest offspring.
Bao Li and Qing Bao will reside at the National Zoo as part of a 10-year breeding and research agreement between China and the U.S., the zoo has said.
The pandas will spend the next 30 days in quarantine and then have time to acclimate to the zoo's new habitat. They will debut to the public in January.
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