වොෂිංටන් ජාතික සත්වෝද්‍යානයට අලුත් අමුත්තන් දෙදෙනෙක්

Washington national zoo to receive 2 new giant pandas

The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C. announced on Wednesday that it will welcome a new pair of giant pandas from China by the end of this year.

According to a press release by the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), the furry black-and-white icons are Bao Li, a two-year-old male panda and Qing Bao, a two-year-old female panda.

Bao Li is the son of Bao Bao and the grandson of Tian Tian and Mei Xiang. The trio all stayed in the national zoo previously, and Bao Bao was born there.

The NZCBI also announced that it has extended a cooperative research and breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Now effective through April 2034, the agreement will allow the United States and China continue their cooperation in the conservation of the giant panda species.

"Today, I am very glad to share with you some good news: Bao Li and Qing Bao, our new envoys of friendship, will soon fly over the Pacific and join the big family of the National Zoo," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said in a speech delivered at the announcement ceremony held by the zoo.

Xie said China's success in conserving giant pandas is "inseparable from international cooperation," including the cooperation with the United States, which is "among the first" countries to work with China and make saving the once-endangered species a joint endeavor. Over the decades, the globally adored species has grown to nearly 1,900 in the wild in China.

Brandie Smith, NZCBI's John and Adrienne Mars director, said she is thrilled to announce the next chapter of breeding and conservation partnership between two countries begins by welcoming two new giant pandas.

"Our panda program has been in place for over fifty years and I think it is so successful because we have such an incredible positive collaborative relationship with our colleagues in China, with our colleagues at the China Wildlife Conservation Association," Smith said.

The first pair of giant pandas ever in the United States, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing, arrived at the Washington National Zoo in April 1972 as a gift from the Chinese government, a few months after then-President Richard Nixon's ice-breaking visit to China.

The arrival of Tian Tian and Mei Xiang in Washington in 2000 marked the beginning of China-U.S. giant panda research and conservation cooperation. Since then, experts from the two countries have collaboratively bred 17 panda cubs in the United States which survived to adulthood, with all of them enthusiastically adored by the people of both countries.

Thanks to the tireless dedication and loving care of the U.S. and Chinese experts, the giant panda has now been removed from the list of endangered species, but it is still considered vulnerable.

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