WASHINGTON — Washington’s newest power couple, Bao Li and Qing Bao, settle into their new home in the National Zoo. The giant pandas will remain off-limits until early next year, when the zoo will unveil its newly renovated panda house to the public.
Not for a while. The bears will undergo several weeks of quarantine and medical checks as they slowly get used to their new environment. In addition to the zoo’s small army of keepers and panda experts, a keeper and veterinarian from China accompanied the bears and will stay in Washington for about a month.
The zoo has set Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, as the pandas’ public debut, with a public celebration of the new arrivals from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9. Members of zoos will have the opportunity to reserve tickets for a preview between January 10 and January 19.
Not at all so far. But that’s by design.
The three-year-old bears actually met each other for the first time when they were transported from China and kept separately at the National Zoo. This is consistent with normal panda behavior in the wild. Adult pandas live almost completely solitary lives. Adult males and females only really interact during the annual 48-hour period when the female is receptive to reproduction.
The panda enclosure at the zoo is built in such a way that Bao Li and Qing Bao can happily live completely separate lives. Panda mothers and their cubs generally stay together for about two years before separating.
Pandas are pure herbivores and enjoy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. But their absolute main ingredient is large amounts of bamboo. Without enough bamboo in their diet, pandas can quickly become ill. The zoo obtains its bamboo supplies from its partner facility, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, as well as from approximately 15 stands in the greater Washington, DC area. And no, private individuals cannot donate bamboo.
Relax, let’s give them all some privacy for now.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are both three years old and about two years away from sexual maturity. The pair were chosen because of their genetic compatibility, but pandas are notoriously picky when it comes to mating and there is no guarantee that nature will simply take its course. If necessary, the zoo’s medical staff has extensive experience with artificial insemination and has used the procedure successfully producing Xiao Qi Ji in 2020.
Technically yes, although it’s unclear whether having parents in the industry gives a panda an edge in the market. Bao Li is the child and grandchild of previous National Zoo pandas. His grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, returned to China last year with his young uncle Xiao Qi Ji; his mother Bao Bao was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and sent to China in 2017 as part of the zoo’s agreement with the Chinese government. Bao Bao gave birth to Bao Li and his twin brother Bao Yuan in August 2021 in China.
The wildly popular Panda Cam will also restart on January 24, with 40 cameras tracking the bears’ movements. The livestream will be broadcast from 7am to 7pm, with the day’s footage rebroadcast at night. The zoo has beefed up its electronic infrastructure in preparation for the expected crush of online panda enthusiasts. A huge wave of spectators then effectively overloaded the Smithsonian’s servers Xiao Qi Ji was born on camera in 2020.
Zoo director Brandie Smith said they considered starting the camera early before the bears made their public debut. However, the zoo “wanted to give the pandas and keepers extra time to get to know each other without the world watching,” Smith said.
The National Zoo has signed a ten-year cooperation agreement with Chinese authorities, paying half a million dollars per bear annually. All cubs born in overseas facilities are subject to an additional fee. The cubs will be sent to China to participate in panda conservation and reproduction programs before they reach the age of four.
The National Zoo has been busy for 11 months since its previous residents – Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji – returned to China last November. The outdoor panda enclosure looks largely the same, with some new fences and a new wooden climbing feature. The real changes are happening indoors, where the zoo launched a multi-million dollar upgrade and renovation before finalizing the latest cooperative agreement to bring giant pandas back to Washington, D.C.
