San Diego Zoo debuts two giant pandas from China in key conservation partnership

A pair of pandas are making their big American debut.

Two giant pandas from China have officially arrived at the San Diego Zoo with the grand re-opening of their exhibit on Aug. 8.

The pandas, named Xin Bao and Yun Chuan, will live in the zoo’s newly renovated and expanded Panda Ridge, which is inspired by the landscapes of their native habitats in the Suchuan, Gansu and Shanxi provinces, according to the zoo’s website.

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The bears, the first to enter the U.S. in 21 years, arrived safely on June 27, the zoo reported.

Yun Chuan, the almost 5-year-old male panda, is identifiable by his long, slightly pointed nose.

His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007. Yun Chuan is active, but is “known to be quite gentle,” said the zoo.

Xin Bao is an almost 4-year-old female recognized by her round face and fluffy ears.

Xin Bao’s name means “precious treasure of prosperity and abundance,” and she’s described as “very active, alert, witty and an excellent climber.”

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The pandas’ arrival is the result of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s 30-year partnership with conservationists in China, which aims to protect and recover giant pandas and bamboo forests.

“By uniting our strengths, we’re restoring flourishing populations and healthy ecosystems, so giant pandas can thrive,” the zoo states on its website.

In this photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, giant panda Xin Bao, a female, is seen on a tree at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP, File)

“In the exciting next step of our partnership, we’re working to improve overall health and resilience for populations vulnerable to extinction and loss of genetic diversity,” the statement continued.

‘Hope and prosperity’ 

Species conservation has been at the forefront of global efforts since the bears’ populations dwindled in the 1990s.

The San Diego Zoo built an alliance with China to “shift panda recovery from an uncertain future to one of hope and prosperity,” the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance wrote in a June article.

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The zoo welcomed its first giant pandas in 1996, making “critical” discoveries about the animals’ reproductive behavior as well as physiology, health, genetics, nutrition and habitat needs, according to the zoo.

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“We developed a giant panda milk formula, and together with our partners, other neonatal techniques that drastically increased survival rates for nursery-raised cubs from less than 10% to more than 90%,” the zoo wrote in an article. 

In this photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, giant panda Yun Chuan eats at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP, File)

In 1999, the alliance also achieved the first successful artificial insemination of a giant panda outside of China.

The pandas, along with their U.S.-born babies, were sent back to China at the end of their 12-year loan agreement.

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In 2016, the conservation status of giant pandas changed from endangered to vulnerable.

Now, the offspring of previous San Diego-raised pandas are returning to the U.S. to further conservation efforts.

The San Diego Zoo built an alliance with China to “shift panda recovery from an uncertain future to one of hope and prosperity,” the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance wrote in a June article. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

People visiting the San Diego Zoo can view the pandas for free, or they can book an early-morning walking tour that includes accompaniment by an expert guide and exclusive viewings.

As of Feb. 2024, Zoo Atlanta is the only other U.S. zoo to house giant pandas, including the first panda twins born in America in more than a quarter-century, according to the AP.

Giant pandas Yun Chuan (left) and Xin Bao (right) will live in the San Diego Zoo’s newly renovated and expanded Panda Ridge, which is inspired by the landscapes of the animals’ native habitats in the Suchuan, Gansu and Shanxi provinces. (AP)

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., is expecting the arrival of two young giant pandas by the end of 2024, Reuters reported in May.

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This is just months after the zoo returned three bears to China in Nov. 2023 amid heightened U.S.-China tensions.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance for comment.