Under the terms of previous agreements, any panda cubs born to Mei Xian and Tian Tian had to maneuver back to China once they turn four years old. But this new agreement is about to expire when Xiao Qi Ji is merely three.
All goodies must come to finish , including the simplest thing of all: pandas.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo announced Monday that its two adult giant pandas, female Mei Xiang and male Tian Tian, will withdraw to China at the top of 2023. Long-term plans for his or her cub Xiao Qi Ji, whose name translates to “Little Miracle” in English, are still up within the air, officials said.
The zoo just negotiated a three-year extension of its panda leasing agreement with China, which was set to expire this month. like previous agreements, the zoo can pay the Chinese government $500,000 per annum through 2023 to stay Chinese-owned pandas in D.C.
Under the terms of previous agreements, any cubs born to Mei Xian and Tian Tian had to maneuver back to China once they turn four years old. But this new agreement is about to expire when Xiao Qi Ji is merely three. Does that mean he may need to go away Washington before expected?
“Too early to verify anything,” wrote zoo spokesperson Pamela Baker-Masson in an email to WAMU/DCist. “It is sensible that [Xiao Qi Ji] would move to China when his parents go. However, when it comes time for subsequent agreement, we’ll have conversations about conservation, research breeding and can address what's within the best interest of Xiao Qi Ji.”
The Zoo’s director, Steve Monfort, only confirmed it had been time to start out preparing to spare the 2 adult pandas. “We have . . . three more years to actually prepare ourselves also for saying goodbye,” he told the Washington Post. He said he felt confident China might send more pandas to D.C. within the future, despite the present state of affairs between the 2 countries.
The National Zoo’s panda agreement with China dates back to the Nixon era. In 1972, First Lady Pat Nixon expressed her interest in pandas to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai over dinner. China then gifted the U.S. two adult pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, to the U.S. as a logo of goodwill during a time of simmering diplomatic tension between the 2 countries.
The furry new residents quickly drew enormous crowds to Washington. Scientists at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute were also ready to start studying panda breeding, pregnancy and cub development, though none of Ling-Ling’s and Hsing-Hsing’s ensuing offspring survived longer than a couple of days.
The zoo negotiated a replacement leasing agreement with China following the deaths of the 2 adult pandas within the 1990s. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, moved from Chengdu to Washington, D.C. in 2000 in exchange for $10 million. What was initially alleged to be a 10-year stay has since been extended 3 times .
Any cubs the pair produces must withdraw to China once they turn four. And produce they have: Mei Xiang has born to four surviving cubs within the past 20 years (the science of panda breeding in captivity has come an extended way since the first days of the zoo’s panda program within the ’70s). When her youngest cub, Xiao Qi Ji, was born this past August, she earned the excellence of being the oldest panda to offer birth in captivity within the U.S.
Giant pandas were faraway from the species list in 2016 following decades of conservation efforts by zoos, scientists and nonprofits just like the World Wildlife Fund. they're still categorized as “vulnerable” thanks to extensive habitat destruction. There are fewer than 1,900 giant pandas within the wild and around 600 in zoos and breeding centers round the world.
The zoo also announced a $3 million gift to support the panda program from David Rubenstein, the program’s largest private benefactor. Rubenstein has donated a complete of $12 million to the program over the past decade.
The National Zoo and every one other Smithsonians are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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