GIANT PANDAS ARE RETURNING TO SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO IN DC

Giant pandas are set to return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., by the end of the year, officials announced Wednesday. China will send a pair of 2-year-old pandas, male Bao Li and female Qing Bao, under a 10-year breeding and research agreement, the zoo said in a press release, to the joy of panda fans throughout the D.C. area and the United States.

“This longstanding program, and this collaboration with our Chinese colleagues, is one of the reasons why giant pandas are no longer listed as endangered, but rather only vulnerable, on the global list of species at risk of extinction,” National Zoo director Brandie Smith said.

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