China Sends New Pandas to San Diego Zoo as Part of Panda Diplomacy Efforts

In an effort to boost "panda diplomacy," China will send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo this year.

The China Wildlife Conservation Association has reached agreements with several zoos, including the Madrid Zoo in Spain and discussions are ongoing with the National Zoo in Washington and the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna.

The two pandas, one male and one female, could arrive as early as the end of summer. Megan Owen, vice president of wildlife conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, expressed her excitement for this opportunity to continue their collaborative conservation efforts to secure the future for giant pandas.

The future for pandas in the United States had looked bleak as recent months saw the return of the sole remaining panda at the Memphis Zoo and three pandas at the National Zoo. However, during a visit to California in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted that pandas could soon be returning to the state.

The giant panda has been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship since Beijing sent the first pair to the National Zoo as a gift in 1972, seven years before the two countries established formal diplomatic relations. Other pandas have been loaned to zoos in the U.S. and around the world at a typical cost of $1 million per year for a pair, which China uses to fund conservation research.

Experts say such collaborations have helped move the notoriously reproduction-resistant giant panda off the endangered species list, though it remains at risk. There are an estimated 1,800 pandas in the wild and an additional 600 living in captivity around the world.

Pandas as a Symbol of Friendship

The giant panda has been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship since Beijing sent the first pair to the National Zoo as a gift in 1972, seven years before the two countries established formal diplomatic relations.

Other pandas have been loaned to zoos in the U.S. and around the world at a typical cost of $1 million per year for a pair, which China uses to fund conservation research. Experts say such collaborations have helped move the notoriously reproduction-resistant giant panda off the endangered species list, though it remains at risk.

Conservation Efforts and Future of Pandas

There are an estimated 1,800 pandas in the wild and an additional 600 living in captivity around the world. However, even the panda has fallen victim to the rising distrust between the U.S. and China, with Chinese nationalists waging an intense online campaign for the return last year of a panda at the Memphis Zoo named Ya Ya.

Despite this, as China prepares to send more pandas to the United States, it is hoped that the diplomatic efforts can help rebuild some level of trust between these two powerful nations.