Say goodbye: Pandas leaving the National Zoo in DC, heading back to China on Wednesday

Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. are leaving the U.S. today and heading back to China, the zoo confirmed to multiple media outlets.

After spending 23 years in the U.S., the pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji will begin their long journey back to China on Wednesday, marking the end of the animals' decades-long tenure in the country.

The pandas will be moved via forklifts into FedEx trucks, CBS News reported. They will then be transported to Dulles International Airport, and moved onto the "FedEx Panda Express," a Boeing 77F aircraft with a custom decal.

Their estimated departure from the airport, where they will fly back to China, is around 1 p.m. ET.

The D.C. pandas' departure comes after zoos in Memphis and San Diego have already returned their pandas to China.

The Atlanta Zoo pandas Ya Lun and Xi Lun will go back at the beginning of 2024, according to a news release by the zoo.

Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji eats an ice cake for his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.
Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji eats an ice cake for his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

Why are the pandas leaving?

In 1972, the U.S. was given its first panda by China, after President Richard Nixon normalized relations with China. The gift of pandas from China was a practice that some have dubbed "panda diplomacy."

Negotiations between the National Zoo and China to extend the contract broke down as Beijing continues to slowly pull its pandas from Western nations due to declining relations, the Associated Press reported. Britain will also lose its pandas from the Edinburgh Zoo in December due to new contracts not being renewed, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said.

The pandas were originally expected to leave D.C. by early December, according to a news release from the zoo. But the zoo moved that deadline up, in line with a three-year contract the zoo has with the China Wildlife Conservation.

The Washington D.C National Zoo was offering free entry passes to see the pandas ahead of their departure.

Contributing: Zoe Wells, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are pandas going back to China?