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There will soon be a giant panda-shaped hole in the capital’s heart as a Washington DC zoo bids farewell to three of its biggest stars set to return to China after two decades.
Tian Tian, 26, Mei Xiang, 25, and their three-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji, are setting off on Wednesday on a 19-hour journey aboard the ‘Panda Express’ to Chengdu, China.
They are being packed up into specially designed crates with 220lbs of bamboo and plenty of apples for their voyage by FedEx van and plane.
Their departure means the panda house at The National Zoo will stand empty for the first time in 23 years and it is not yet clear whether they will be replaced with a new pair.
Speaking at a farewell event, the zoo’s Director Brandi Smith comforted despondent fans, saying ‘the future is bright for giant pandas’.
Giant Panda Xiao Qi Ji hangs upside down from a tree in its enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington
The bears will be loaded into specially designed crates for the 19-hour journey by van and plane to Chengdu, China
Workers walk with a crate carrying Panda Xiao Qi Ji as it is moved out of the Smithsonian National Zoo
Giant panda Mei Xiang is transported in a crate to depart
She said: ‘It’s a moment of joy because this is one more step in 50 years of a successful giant panda conservation program, and hopefully the beginning of 50 more years.
‘Please know the future is bright for giant pandas. We remain committed to our program, and we look forward to celebrating with all of you when pandas can return to D.C.’
The trio are being sent to a ‘panda base’ at the China Wildlife Conservation Association in Chengdu.
Bryan Amaral, senior curator at the National Zoo, told NBC: ‘It’s a place where they have lots and lots of giant pandas, very similar to what you would see — how our giant pandas live here, very similar to that.’
Smithsonian zookeepers will keep the bears company on their 19-hour journey.
They will be loaded into their crates and onto a special FedEx truck on Wednesday morning and then drive to Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
From there, it’s all aboard the ‘Panda Express’, a special Boeing 777 FedEx plane, complete with panda and Smithsonian branding for the trip back to China.
Their long flight will include a brief re-fueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute staff members move bamboo to be transported
They are being packed in with 220lb of bamboo and plenty of apples for the long journey
They are travelling in panda branded vans and planes to reach their new home
A truck stands ready to transport a giant panda from Smithsonian’s National Zoo to China
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Giant pandas have been a beloved feature at the zoo since the first pair arrived in the 1970s – the first pair, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were gifted to President Nixon in 1972.
They died in the 1990s and were replaced in 2000 by Mei Xiang and Tian Tian who were loaned to the Smithsonian by the Chinese government for roughly $10million.
They were originally only meant to stay until 2011, but the agreement was extended until 2015, then again to 2020 and finally until 2023.
But now the contract has expired and it is time for the panda family to return home.
Over their years at the Smithsonian, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have had four surviving cubs to the delight of the world.
The first three cubs, Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei returned to China when they were a few years old.
Their youngest child, Xiao Qi Ji, meaning ‘little miracle’, was born in 2020 and will return with them to China.
They have greeted thousands of visitors to the zoo over the last two decades
Giant Panda Mei Xiang licks up water while resting in her enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington
Giant Panda Tian Tian has a snack while sitting in its enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
An airplane transporting giant pandas at the Dulles International Airport in Dulles
The Panda Express takes off as it transports Giant Pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The “FedEx Panda Express” aircraft takes off with giant pandas Xiao Qi Ji, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang onboard
The pandas’ departure comes as US-China tensions run high.
One China expert, Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University, said the failure to renew the bears’ contract looked like ‘punitive panda diplomacy’ noting that two other American zoos have lost their pandas in recent years.
The San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the Tennessee bears went home this year – meaning the only giant pandas left in America will be at the Atlanta Zoo.
Wilder told NBC the Chinese government could be ‘trying to send a signal.’
But Zoo officials insisted the panda’s return was not political.
Brandie Smith, the National Zoo’s director, told News4 back in August: ‘We’re a bunch of scientists; we’re a bunch of animal people. 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?’
