The Panda Diplomacy Revived: San Diego Zoo Prepares To Welcome Pandas From China

For the first time in over twenty years, China is sending pandas to the United States, much to the excitement of the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is getting ready to welcome a pair of pandas, possibly including a female descendant of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, two of the zoo's former residents, known for being one of the most successful panda mating pairs in captivity.

On Thursday, the China Wildlife Conservation Association announced that it has also reached agreements with the zoo in Madrid, Spain. Moreover, discussions are underway with zoos in Washington, D.C., and Vienna. This move allays concerns that Beijing was discontinuing its longstanding panda diplomacy with Western nations amid diplomatic tensions.

“We look forward to further expanding the research outcomes on the conservation of endangered species such as giant pandas, and promoting mutual understanding and friendship among peoples through the new round of international cooperation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated in Beijing.

The collaboration will involve research into disease prevention and habitat protection, contributing to the construction of China's national panda park, stated the organization.

Since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972, preceding the normalization of bilateral relations, the black-and-white bears have symbolized U.S.-China friendship. China subsequently loaned pandas to various zoos to aid in breeding cubs and bolstering the population.

However, the United States now only hosts four giant pandas, all located at the zoo in Atlanta. This follows China's decision not to renew loan agreements with three other zoos in San Diego, Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, in recent years.

For four decades, Cindy Rose has been visiting the San Diego Zoo, where she used to visit Bai Yun and her sixth cub before they were returned to China in 2019. They were the zoo's final pandas.

“I’m so excited!” she said. “We love the pandas, and it’s so great one will be related to the one that was here.”

Accompanied by their grandson, Cindy and Randy Rose visited the zoo on Thursday.

“It makes me feel good that this is one way to reduce tensions,” Randy Rose said. “We have a lot of differences but we all love pandas. They’re fun to watch, munching on bamboo and climbing trees.”

San Diego Zoo officials informed The Associated Press that if all requirements and permits are approved, the anticipated arrival of the two bears— a male and a female—is slated for the end of summer.

“We’re very excited and hopeful,” said Megan Owen of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and vice president of Wildlife Conservation Science. “They’ve expressed a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to re-initiate panda cooperation starting with the San Diego Zoo.”

In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping raised hopes of his country resuming panda exchanges with the U.S. following his face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden in Northern California. During a dinner with business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, Xi referred to the bears as "envoys of friendship" and noted the anticipation from the San Diego Zoo and Californians who were “very much look forward to welcoming pandas back.”

Bai Yun, born in captivity in China, resided at the zoo for over 20 years and gave birth to six cubs during her time there. Her mate, Gao Gao, was born in the wild in China and lived at the San Diego Zoo from 2003 to 2018 before being repatriated.

Decades of conservation endeavors both in the wild and in captivity have successfully rescued the giant panda species from extinction, boosting its population from fewer than 1,000 individuals to over 1,800, encompassing both wild and captive populations.

According to a 2022 report by America’s Congressional Research Service, zoos typically pay an annual fee of $1 million for a pair of pandas, with the funds allocated to support conservation efforts in China. When the pandas reach old age, they are returned to China, and any offspring born are usually sent back to China around the age of 3 or 4.

In the wild, giant pandas typically have a life expectancy of around 15 years, whereas in captivity, they have been known to live as long as 38 years.

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, the United States, Spain, and Austria were among the first nations to collaborate with China on panda conservation, resulting in the birth of 28 pandas in those countries.

There has been increasing demand from the Chinese public for the return of giant pandas, considered a "national treasure," amidst unfounded allegations circulating on Chinese social media about mistreatment of pandas in U.S. zoos.

Despite no longer housing any pandas, the San Diego Zoo continued its collaboration with Chinese counterparts.

Megan Owen of the San Diego Zoo mentioned that China is particularly interested in exchanging information regarding the zoo's successful captive breeding of pandas. Breeding giant pandas is challenging, partly due to the female's very narrow reproductive window, which lasts only 48 to 72 hours each year.

Hua Mei, Bai Yun's first cub, made history as the first panda born through artificial insemination to survive into adulthood outside of China. After being sent to China, she went on to produce 12 cubs of her own.

Meanwhile, Bai Yun remained at the zoo, where she gave birth to two more female and three male cubs. Researchers monitored her closely with cameras in her den, contributing valuable insights into maternal care behavior, as noted by Owen.

“We have a lot of institutional knowledge and capacity from our last cooperative agreement, which we will be able to parlay into this next chapter, as well as training the next generation of panda conservationists,” she said.