The Panda Factories
New York TimesOCT 20 2024
The three-year-old pandas are part of a new 10-year agreement between the United States and China, with the zoo paying $1 million annually for conservation efforts.
Bao Li has familial ties to the National Zoo, as his mother Bao Bao was born there in 2013, and his grandparents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian lived at the zoo for 23 years.
The pandas will undergo a quarantine period of at least 30 days before being introduced to the public, with their debut scheduled for January 24, 2025.
The panda exchange program raises concerns about animal welfare and the ethics of using wildlife for diplomatic purposes. Transporting these animals across the globe and keeping them in captivity for public display may cause stress and limit their natural behaviors. Additionally, the high cost of maintaining pandas in zoos could potentially be better spent on conservation efforts in their native habitats.