Giant pandas from China could arrive in the United States again soon as Beijing plans to continue its panda diplomacy with Western countries, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy in the United States.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association has reached agreements with the San Diego Zoo in California and the Madrid Zoo in Spain “for a new round of international cooperation in giant panda conservation,” according to the statement.
The deal would keep alive a more than five-decade tradition of China always lending zoos to US zoos in a gesture of friendly diplomacy between the two countries. The return of several pandas to China from the United States in recent years had raised questions about whether the practice had ended.
China is also negotiating with the National Zoo in Washington, DC and the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, according to the embassy statement.
“It has always been our intention and our hope to have giant pandas at the zoo in the future and continue our research here and conservation work in China,” said Dr. statement. He added that the National Zoo was in discussions with the China Wildlife Conservation Association “to develop a future giant panda program.”
Dr. Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo, said in a statement that the zoo is “taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return.”
The new round of what the Chinese Embassy called “collaborative research” will focus on disease control and prevention among giant pandas and others, according to the release.
The San Diego Zoo sent its last pandas to China in 2019. And last April, the Memphis Zoo returned its female giant panda, Ya Ya. Animal welfare activists were alarmed by videos and photos of Ya Ya at the time, in which she had scaly fur and appeared somewhat emaciated. Animal rights groups had campaigned for her release and blamed the zoo for the death of Ya Ya’s companion, Le Le. The Memphis Zoo and Chinese officials have denied any wrongdoing.
Then, last November, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington sent the two elderly adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, back to China on a 19-hour FedEx flight. the Panda Express.
The move sparked speculation that rising tensions between the U.S. and Chinese governments were the reason for the pandas’ return to Washington, but officials and scientists at the National Zoo said each of the three pandas was of an age to return to Washington. China.
The departure of the pandas made Atlanta the only place in the United States where giant pandas (two adults and two babies) could be seen, although those bears were supposed to return to China sometime this year.
Panda diplomacy between the United States and China dates back to the 1970s. It began after President Nixon visited China in 1972, normalizing relations between the two countries. Within two months, China had sent one female and one male panda to the National Zoo. These original pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, lived together in the zoo, had five cubs, none of which survived.
Zoos that always accept from China pay an annual fee to keep the animals and generally do so for at least a few years. Zoos that have housed everything in the United States over the decades negotiate their own contracts with conservation groups in China.
While the furry diplomats chew their bamboo, oblivious to their geopolitical significance, critics have said panda diplomacy has been used by China to soften its authoritarian image and distract from its record of human rights abuses.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, hinted in a speech last fall that more giant pandas could come to American zoos. “We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States in the conservation of pandas, and we are doing our best to meet the wishes of Californians to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples,” Mr. Xi said at the time. .
There are just over 1,860 pandas in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, as the species remains vulnerable after being on the brink of extinction in the 1990s. They live mostly in temperate forests in the mountains of southwest China, where they live with bamboo, of which between 26 and 84 pounds are required per day.
