Giant Panda Tian Tian rests in its enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7, 2023, on the final day of viewing before returning to China. All three of the zoo’s pandas left for China, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the U.S. capital.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
Giant pandas have been one of the biggest attractions at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., ever since the first pair arrived in 1972 — a historic token of friendship from communist China.
Now, National Zoo officials say D.C. will get two new adolescent pandas by the end of the year. The last bears departed in November, bound for China on a FedEx cargo plane, with no agreement in place to secure a new pair.
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“We’re beyond thrilled,” says Brandie Smith, director of the National Zoo. “The first time I walked through the panda house after the pandas had left, that was a really sad moment. But then we immediately turned our eyes toward the future.”
China has a monopoly on one of the cutest creatures in the animal kingdom — the native range of giant pandas is entirely within the country’s borders. Today, there are roughly 2,000 of the animals lumbering around the bamboo-filled mountains of south central China.
For decades, the Chinese government has gifted or loaned pandas to zoos around the world. It’s a practice that’s been called “panda diplomacy,” and it often coincides with trade deals or other diplomatic events. But as relations have soured in recent years between China and the U.S., China stopped renewing panda loans to U.S. zoos. Atlanta is currently the last zoo in the country to have giant pandas, and they are set to return to China.
Asked whether international relations were at play in the D.C. panda negotiations, Smith said she couldn’t comment. “That’s not really my area of expertise,” she says.
The San Diego Zoo is also set to get a new pair of pandas sometime soon, but no date has been announced.
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The 2-year-old bears heading to D.C. are named Bao Li and Qing Bao. Both were born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan. Bao Li has D.C. roots, though: His mother, Bao Bao, was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and was a local celebrity before being sent to China in 2017. Bao Li’s grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, lived at the National Zoo for 23 years before being returned to China last year.
Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji walks around his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo on Sept. 23, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
“We need that panda!”
Mariel Lally, one of the zoo’s panda keepers, traveled with the bears in the FedEx cargo plane last year on their flight back to China. While there, she happened to see Bao Li and immediately noted a resemblance with his grandfather, Tian Tian.
“We were just falling on the floor, we just couldn’t believe how adorable he was. We just kept saying, we need that panda, we need him,” Lally says. “We had no idea it would come to pass.”
At age 2, pandas are considered “sub-adults,” Lally says, comparable to the teenage years in a human lifespan.
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“They’re going to be a little cub-like, still really playful, and want to spend a lot of time in the trees playing with toys,” Lally says.
The new panda loan comes with terms similar to previous agreements. The loan has a term of 10 years, though previous loans have often been extended. Any cubs born to the pair will belong to China and must be sent back upon turning 4 years old. The National Zoo will pay $1 million a year to the China Wildlife and Conservation Association in exchange for the pandas, funds that are intended to support research and conservation efforts.
After decades of international efforts to breed pandas and restore habitat, the animals are no longer considered endangered. Giant pandas are now listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Chinese environmental officials.
At the National Zoo, federal funding covers basic expenses like food and medicine for animals, but it doesn’t pay for the panda loan fee or cover the full cost of the panda program. The program has an annual budget of $2.8 million, including the fee. About three-quarters of that budget is funded by donations, zoo memberships and other sales.
About 2 million people visit the National Zoo annually, and for many, the giant pandas have been the first and favorite stop. Smith says there hasn’t been a noticeable decline in visitors since thelast pandas departed, but it’s hard to tell because the zoo’s busy season is just now ramping up. And, she says, there are plenty of other animals to see.
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“We know our visitors might come for the pandas, but they stay here for everything else,” Smith says.
While the panda habitat has been empty, the zoo has taken the opportunity to upgrade the building and outdoor space. Crews are currently at work building new fences, larger indoor and outdoor platforms, and ponds.
“We want to make sure whatever we put in is going to be sturdy, especially with two young mischievous pandas that are probably going to try to take the whole place apart,” Lally says.
WASHINGTON – A sunny, dry and mild Tuesday for the Washington, D.C. region, with highs near 71 degrees.
What we know:
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The day starts chilly, with temperatures in the 40s and a few upper 30s in the area. Plenty of sunshine with some light winds that will make for a pleasant afternoon. FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda says it’s a good day for outdoor plans, with temperatures climbing into the low 70s by mid‑afternoon. Winds may turn a bit breezy overnight, but conditions will remain cool and dry.
Rain chances return Wednesday as clouds increase. The morning and early afternoon look mostly dry, but the evening commute could turn soggy on Wednesday. Grenda says to expect two rounds of showers tomorrow – one around 5 p.m. and another after sunset – with a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms. The severe weather threat appears to be limited.
Behind the system, Thursday turns cooler and breezy, with highs only in the mid‑60s. Temperatures rebound into the 70s Friday before a warm, more humid stretch arrives over the weekend. Highs could reach the 80s by Saturday and Sunday and the 90s by Monday.
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DC weather: Sunny, mild Tuesday; showers return Wednesday
The Source: Information in this article comes from the FOX 5 Weather Team and the National Weather Service.
With a blue sky above the Lincoln Memorial, people walk along the reflection pool in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2023.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
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Jose Luis Magana/AP
A nonprofit is suing the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over the decision to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool at Washington D.C.’s National Mall, and to paint the pool’s basin blue.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), an education and advocacy organization. In the suit, TCLF is asking a federal judge to halt the project, saying that the Trump administration failed to have the project reviewed federally, as is dictated by the National Historic Preservation Act.
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President Trump revealed his plans for the pool do-over last month in “American flag blue,” saying that the project would take one week and $2 million, and that it would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. A few days later on Truth Social, the president posted a fake image of himself and several of his administration officials in swimsuits, along with an unidentified woman in a gingham bikini, lounging in the water with the Washington National Monument at the rear. (Swimming in the reflecting pool is prohibited by federal law.)
In a YouTube video posted by the White House on April 23, Trump called the pool “filthy dirty” and said it “leaked like a sieve.” In that video, Trump said he was going to call three companies that he has worked with in the past – “all they do is swimming pools” – and say, “Give me a good price.”
The New York Times reported last Friday that the contract for the reflecting pool’s resurfacing was awarded in a $6.9 million no-bid contract to a company called Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which previously has never held any federal contracts.
An employee at the Atlantic Industrial Coatings confirmed in a telephone call on Monday that it has been contracted for this project, but referred all other questions to the Department of the Interior.
The Times reported on Monday that the final cost of the project could be upward of $13 million, per documents it says it has obtained. The Department of the Interior did not confirm the cost of the project, but wrote: “The contract price reflects the effort necessary to expedite the timeline of completing the leak prevention coating project—more people, more materials, more equipment and longer hours ahead of our 250th.”
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In an unsigned statement emailed to NPR Monday afternoon, the Interior Department wrote: “The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations. The choice of American Flag Blue will enhance the visitor experience by making the pool reflect the grand Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. NPS is also investing in a state-of-the-art ozone nanobubbler filtration system and will now have a dedicated crew who will maintain the grounds’ from wildlife. The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come.”
Critics of the project, including TCLF, don’t share that vision – and are taking particular umbrage at the color.
“The reflecting pool should not be viewed in isolation; it is part of the larger ensemble of designed landscapes that comprise the National Mall,” Charles A. Birnbaum, the president and CEO of TCLF, said in a statement emailed to NPR Monday. “The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”
The National Park Service regularly cleans out algae, goose droppings and other detritus from the reflecting pool. The last major renovation of the reflecting pool, which included the installation of a new circulation and filtration system, took place during the Obama administration at a reported cost of $34 million.
Before founding TCLF in 2008, Birnbaum served for 15 years as the coordinator of the Historic Landscape Initiative for the National Park Service.
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TCLF has another open lawsuit against the federal administration: it is one of eight cultural and architecture groups currently suing President Trump and the Kennedy Center board over the planned renovations of the complex, which are planned to start in July.
The memorial service will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at 1 p.m.
A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon. (Roanoke Police Department)
WASHINGTON D.C. – A brave K-9 hero from the region will be honored at the Annual National Police K9 Memorial Service on Monday afternoon.
K-9 Knox died in the line of duty last year after he was accidentally hit by a police vehicle while pursuing a suspect involved in a stolen vehicle incident. He was a 3-year-old German shepherd and had served as a narcotics detection and patrol apprehension K-9 for the Roanoke Police Department since May 2023.
The memorial service will include a wreath-laying ceremony and will be held at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at 1 p.m. The event will open with a musical performance by Frank Ray, and the guest speaker will be Deputy Jared Hahn of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
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The San Antonio Police Department Blue Line Choir will sing the national anthem, and the Emerald Society Pipes & Drums band will also perform.
