San Diego Zoo to receive 2 pandas, a male and a female, from China
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The pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, were bid farewell at a ceremony on June 26 at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.
PHOTOS: SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE/X
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SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Zoo will soon be home to two giant pandas from China
The pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, were bid farewell at a ceremony on June 26 at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province. Afterwards, they were to be flown to the US, the zoo said in a statement.
Mr Paul Baribault, president and chief executive of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said a partnership between his organisation and the China Wildlife Conservation Association had been “instrumental in advancing giant panda conservation”.
“We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure the survival and thriving of this iconic species,” Mr Baribault said.
Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego, who attended the farewell ceremony, said on social media that the partnership “will help protect these magnificent creatures and their habitat”.
It was unclear exactly when Yun Chuan, a four-year-old male, and Xin Bao, a three-year-old female, would arrive in San Diego, but whenever they arrive, it will still be some time before the public will be able to see them at the zoo.
The pandas need a few weeks to acclimate to their new home before they are put on view for visitors, the zoo said.
Yun Chuan and Xin Bao will be the first pandas to enter the US in 21 years, according to the zoo.
The US will soon receive another pair of pandas
Panda swopping has been a longstanding sign of diplomacy between the US and China, with zoos across the country taking in some while sending back others over the years.
Zhen Zhen, who was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007 and later sent to China, is the mother of Yun Chuan. The San Diego Zoo sent its last pandas back to China in 2019.
There are just over 1,860 pandas in the wild around the world, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Pandas live mostly in temperate forests high in south-west China, where they feed on bamboo. Pandas must eat about 12kg to 38kg of bamboo daily, and they can grow to up to 136kg and more than 1.2m tall. NYTIMES
