Two giant pandas from the National Zoo in Washington D.C. were taken to China on November 8th, 2023. The pandas were previously on loan to the zoo from the Chinese government, which owns and leases all giant pandas in the U.S. The pandas, named Mei Xiang and Tian Tian had 4 cubs: Xiao Qi Ji, Bei Bei, Bao Bao, and Tai Shan. One of the cubs, Xiao Qi Ji, joined his parents on the ride to their new home at the China Conservation and Research Center. The other cubs had already returned to China years prior to their brother’s and parents’s departure from the National Zoo. Tai Shan was sent to China in 2010, Bao Bao in 2017, and Bei Bei in 2019.
The pandas traveled to China in an airplane filled with over 200 lbs of bamboo. There were also panda specialists onboard for the animals in case of an accident. This was all to ensure the safety and comfort of the giant pandas on the 19-hour flight from local Dulles International Airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in China.
According to the National Zoo’s official website, the pandas “slept and ate bamboo, biscuits and produce,” while in the air. The female panda, Mei Xiang, was said to have eaten the most while on the ride. This is fitting as her crate was the closest to the food. Panda cub Xiao Qi Ji showed a similarity in his mother’s love for food as when the caretakers would approach the cargo door he would jump up because he believed that when people came, food was coming with them.
With a new environment surrounding the giant pandas, it can be overwhelming for them to understand what’s going on and that this new area is what they now have to call home. All three of the giant pandas took their time in learning more about their surroundings before leaving the cargo plane, however, all eventually came to terms with the situation and stepped foot in the quarantine enclosure.
The state of the giant pandas is important to their survival and also the survival of the United States’ relations with China itself. “Panda Diplomacy” began in the 1970s when then President Nixon’s wife stated that she “love[d] them.”China then decided to send over two adult pandas, which blossomed into a tradition that has continued between the two nations since. Although, it’s important to realize that since these pandas represented the bond between the U.S. and China, then this recent relocation of the animals calls into question the status of the relationship between the countries.
Refusing to renew the panda leases, not just in the U.S. but also in other countries such as Scotland and Australia, sends a clear message to the Western countries. China, as of now, has no plans to continue its diplomatic relationship between these countries. The gesture of goodwill that the pandas symbolized made them one of the most important animals the National Zoo homed for a long time, and it was sad to see them go.
