Giant pandas could make a return to the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Zoo Director Brandie Smith confirmed to News4 on Thursday evening that the zoo is "in discussions" with the China Wildlife Conservation Association to develop another giant panda program.
The zoo's longstanding resident pandas, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, departed D.C. last fall, along with their youngest offspring, Xiao Qi Ji, who was born at the zoo in 2020. The three moved to new homes in the China Wildlife Conservation Association, leaving the National Zoo's giant panda habitat vacant for the first time in decades.
But it's possible that habitat may get new residents in the future.
"It’s always been our intention and hope to have giant pandas at the Zoo in the future and continue our research here and conservation work in China," Smith said in a statement Thursday. "The Zoo is in discussions with our Chinese partner, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, to develop a future giant panda program. After 52 years of success, we remain committed to giant panda conservation."
The news about the possibility of more pandas in D.C. comes after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that China plans to send a new pair of pandas to California. The San Diego Zoo announced earlier this week that it expects a male and female panda to arrive by the end of this summer.
The National Zoo did not provide more details on the nature of the discussions or when more giant pandas could possibly move to D.C.
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Why did DC's three pandas leave for China in 2023?
The short answer is that 2023 was simply the expiration date for the research agreement contract between the U.S. and China. But the long answer is a little more complicated than that.
The pandas left D.C. at a time when, according to the Associated Press, there was a larger trend of China pulling back its pandas from multiple western zoos as their agreements expired. It happened as diplomatic tensions ran high between Beijing and a number of western governments.
At the time, National Zoo officials remained tightlipped about the prospects of renewing or extending the agreement for Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji to remain at the National Zoo.
Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues, called the trend “punitive panda diplomacy" when talking to the AP. He noted that two other American zoos had lost their pandas in recent years, while zoos in Scotland and Australia were facing similar departures with no signs of their loan agreements being renewed. (The Edinburgh Zoo's giant pandas did end up leaving Scotland in December 2023.)
But, in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that China would send new pandas to the United States, calling them "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples."
"We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples," Xi said during a speech with business leaders.
Despite the links to U.S.-China diplomacy, the negotiations are researcher-to-researcher and not based in politics, Smith, the National Zoo's director told News4 last summer.
"We're a bunch of scientists; we're a bunch of animal people," Smith said. "This is not a political conversation. This is absolutely a conversation between colleagues talking about, what's best for the overall program, and also, what can be best for individual animals?"
