pandas

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After 'Long Dark Drought,' Pandas Returning to DC Zoo
National Zoo's
'Panda Drought' Is Over
UPDATED
Oct 15, 2024 1:40 PM CDT

National Zoo's 'Panda Drought' Is Over

Pair arrives in DC from China

(Newser) - The National Zoo's long, dark panda drought has come to an end. Eleven months after the Washington, DC, zoo sent its three wildly popular pandas—Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji— back to China , a new pair of bears arrived Tuesday morning, the AP reports....

National Zoo Is Getting Visitors
Panda Diplomacy Returns
May 29, 2024 10:44 AM CDT

Panda Diplomacy Returns

China is sending 2 young giant pandas to the National Zoo later this year

(Newser) - The National Zoo won't have to wait long to refill its panda habitat, reports the Washington Post , with the zoo announcing that China is sending two young pandas to DC later this year. The pair of 2-year-olds are female Qing Bao ("green" and "treasure" in Mandarin) and...

Is It a Panda or a Dog? Zoo Says It's a 'Panda Dog'

Painted dogs at Chinese zoo inspire no small amount of controversy

(Newser) - A zoo in China has come under fire for painting dogs to look like giant pandas and making visitors pay to see them. The fluffy black and white Chow Chows appear in an exhibit that opened at the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province this month with a cover charge of...

Sign of a US-China Thaw: a New Panda Promise

China plans to send 2 new pandas to the San Diego Zoo

(Newser) - China plans to send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo, renewing its long-standing gesture of friendship toward the United States after nearly all the iconic bears on loan to US zoos were returned as relations began to sour between the two nations. San Diego Zoo...

5 Months After Biden's 'Dictator' Remark, a Repeat

After California summit, president says China's Xi Jinping still is one, but that they 'made progress'

(Newser) - President Biden and Xi Jinping spent four hours together Wednesday, emerging from their working lunch and other meetings with "modest agreements" on everything from combating fentanyl to reestablishing military communications. Post-summit, however, Biden made a remark about his Chinese counterpart that's "likely to land with a thud...

Say Goodbye to Tian Tian and Family

Giant panda, as well as mate Mei Xiang and cub Xiao Qi Ji are heading back to China on Wednesday

(Newser) - For nearly a quarter century, giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have called the Smithsonian's National Zoo in DC home, part of a "panda diplomacy" initiative with China established during the Nixon years that involved loaning pandas to the US for breeding and research purposes. Now, the...

DC to Lose Famous Trio Due to 'Punitive Panda Diplomacy'

Amid strained relations with China, it's not clear if deal for pandas struck by Nixon will be renewed

(Newser) - The National Zoo's three giant pandas—Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji—are set to return to China in early December, with no public signs that the 50-year-old exchange agreement struck by former President Nixon will continue, reports the AP . National Zoo officials have remained...

Le Le the Giant Panda Dies
Le Le the Giant Panda Dies
Feb 4, 2023 1:30 PM CST

Le Le the Giant Panda Dies

Memphis Zoo defends itself from mistreatment allegations

(Newser) - Months before he was scheduled to return to China, Le Le the Giant Panda died Thursday at the Memphis Zoo. He died in his sleep with little warning, the Commercial Appeal reports, and zoo officials said the cause of death isn't known. He'd displayed signs of distress days...

2 Tiny Triumphs in Pandas' Struggle for Survival

Twin cubs born at a breeding center in China

(Newser) - Twin giant pandas have been born at a breeding center in southwestern China, reports the AP , a sign of progress for the country’s unofficial national mascot as it struggles for survival amid climate change and loss of habitat. The male and female cubs, born Tuesday at the Qinling Panda...

A Famously Old Giant Panda Is Euthanized

At 35, An An was oldest male panda in captivity

(Newser) - The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at a Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated. An An lived most of his life at Ocean Park after he and a female panda were gifted to Hong Kong by China in 1999, reports the AP...

Giant Panda Gives Birth to Two Tiny Pandas in Madrid

Hua Zuiba has already had four cubs with Bing Xing

(Newser) - The world just got a few ounces cuter. Hua Zuiba, a giant panda on loan to the Madrid Zoo from China, gave birth Monday morning to twins. Hua Zuiba and Bing Xing, the father of the twins, have four other adorable offspring, including another pair of twins, per the AP...

For Giant Panda, It's a Girl ... and Another Girl!

Huan Huan, on loan from China to France, is the new mom of twins

(Newser) - Happy news on the giant-panda front: One such panda on loan to France from China gave birth to twin female cubs early Monday, per the AP . "They are very lively, pink, and plump," says the Beauval Zoo, south of Paris. The cubs weigh 5.3 ounces and 4....

Zoo Director on Panda Birth: 'I Was Relieved,' Then 'Shocked'

Japan's Ueno Zoo welcomes its first twin panda cubs

(Newser) - Japan's oldest zoo was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country before closing for five months due to the pandemic. Shortly after reopening, it's suddenly even more attractive. In a surprise, a giant panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo gave birth to twins early Wednesday....

Giant Panda Delivers 'Miracle' Cub' at DC's National Zoo

Mei Xiang, 22, is oldest giant panda in US to give birth, also first to do so in US using frozen semen

(Newser) - "A precious giant panda cub has arrived!" That was the excited tweet Friday evening from the National Zoo in Washington, DC, announcing the birth of what the Washington Post calls a "miracle cub." Giant panda Mei Xiang, 22, delivered a "wonderful, wiggly cub" at 6:...

At Least Someone's Getting Busy During Quarantine

Giant pandas in Hong Kong zoo mate naturally for first time after a decade of trying

(Newser) - The story is a little more involved than the headline implies, but the New York Times neatly wraps up what just went down in Hong Kong: "Some Giant Pandas Had Sex." Per CNN , the Ocean Park zoo in Hong Kong has been shut down for a coronavirus quarantine...

This Has Never Before Been Seen in the Wild

Fully albino giant panda spotted in Chinese forest

(Newser) - Chinese researchers believe they've captured the first footage of a fully albino giant panda in the wild. The panda, believed to be a year or two old, was spotted on an infrared camera some 6,500 feet above sea level in Sichuan's Wolong National Nature Reserve in April....

In China, Some Pandas Are Losing Their Black Eye Patches

It's caused by fur loss around the eyes

(Newser) - A dozen pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding appear to be losing their distinctive black eye patches. Their plight got attention on social media after users posted pictures of pandas whose eye patches appeared to be turning white, Quartz reports. What's actually happening: The pandas...

National Zoo Says Last Goodbye to Bao Bao

Panda cub leaves DC to take part in breeding program in China

(Newser) - The National Zoo in Washington is saying a final goodbye to its panda cub Bao Bao. The zoo is packing up the US-born panda for a one-way flight Tuesday to China, where the 3-year-old will eventually join a breeding program, the AP reports. Bao Bao is scheduled to leave the...

Reports of Panda's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

And he's got the newspapers to prove it

(Newser) - The Taipei Zoo is offering a "proof of life" photo in an attempt to debunk rumors that a prized panda died recently, the AP reports. Photos released by the zoo this week show 11-year-old Tuan Tuan looking at newspapers laid out in front of his inner enclosure to prove...

We Now Know the Panda Cub's Gender

Surviving panda twin is a male: National Zoo

(Newser) - The National Zoo's panda parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, have a son. The zoo announced this morning that the surviving panda cub is male and the son of the zoo's male panda, Tian Tian. Mei Xiang gave birth to fraternal twins Saturday, but the smaller cub—also...

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