Bao Bao stole hearts across America as people from all over the country watched her grow from pink butter stick to ball of fluff with poor motor skills to adept tree-climbing toddler to bamboo-inhaling adult.
Those who couldn’t visit the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. could watch the panda cub’s journey on the zoo’s popular website Giant Panda Cam, and even talk to her on Twitter.
But now the time is coming for Bao Bao to bid adieu to her adoring American fans. The National Zoo announced Thursday that as part of its agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, she will go to Chengdu to participate in the breeding program aimed at increasing the species’ population.
“Bao Bao is very special to us at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” said Brandie Smith, associate director of animal care sciences at the National Zoo. “She’s captured the hearts of people all over the world who watched her grow up on the panda cams, and she has been an ambassador for conservation. We are sad to see her go, but excited for the contributions she is going to continue to make to the global giant panda population.”
China owns all giant pandas and leases them to foreign zoos as diplomatic envoys and to help increase awareness of conservation efforts. The American agreement stipulates cubs born in the National Zoo will be relocated to China when they are 4 years old, which Bao Bao will turn in August 2017. In order to facilitate keeping her cool during travel she will fly to China in late winter 2017.
Her younger brother Bei Bei, born in August 2015, and parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian will remain in Washington under the agreement. Pandas are solitary in the wild, so Bao Bao has been living in a separate enclosure since she was weaned from her mother in March 2015.
The National Zoo staff will help Bao Bao get used to her travel crate before the journey to ensure she is comfortable and safe. The panda team will then accompany her on the flight, making sure she has plenty of her favorite snacks like apples and sweet potatoes along the way.
Giant pandas were removed from the endangered species list last month, and are now considered “vulnerable.” There are only an estimated 1,800 in the wild. Getting pandas interested in procreation is tricky business, so pandas like Bao Bao are sent to the centers in Chengdu run to participate in the breeding program once they reach sexual maturity. Experts work to introduce pandas bred in captivity into the wild, a process aided by genetic diversity. Bao Bao’s descendents may eventually be sent into the wild.
The National Zoo said there will be a chance for the public to say goodbye before Bao Bao departs.