Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji will be sent to China after three years under a new agreement extension with the Asian country, the National Zoo announced Monday.
The new agreement with the China Wildlife and Conservation Association extends the previous agreement with the organization until Dec. 7, 2023. The siblings of Xiao Qi Ji (pronounced “SHEOW chee jee”) were sent to China when they turned four years old per similar previous agreements.
Cub Xiao Qi Ji’s mother, Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), and father Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN), also will go to China at the end of the three-year agreement extension.
“Our long-standing collaboration with Chinese colleagues to study, care for and save the giant panda will now pass the half-century mark,” said Steve Monfort, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. “Through the power of science and cooperation, and with the support of the public and benefactors like David Rubenstein, our work on behalf of this beloved bear species continues. Along with millions of Americans, I look forward to the next three years, watching Xiao Qi Ji grow and making further strides in conservation and in our understanding of giant pandas.”
Mei Xiang gave birth to the male cub on Aug. 21, becoming the oldest giant panda in the U.S. to have a successful pregnancy and the first to do so via artificial insemination using only frozen semen.
The giant panda mom has previously given birth to three surviving cubs: Tai Shan (tie-SHON) in July 2005, Bao Bao (BOW BOW) in August 2013 and Bei Bei (BAY BAY) in August 2015.
Both Mei Xiang and Tian Tian have lived at the zoo since Dec. 6, 2000. Both were born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda before moving to the National Zoo in the District.
Since giant pandas arrived at the zoo in 1972, zoo staff and scientists have learned more about their biology, behavior, breeding, reproduction and disease and are conducting ecology studies on giant pandas’ native habitat.
More than 1,800 giant pandas are estimated to live in the wild in China. Researchers estimate giant pandas typically live 15 to 20 years in the wild and about 30 years in captivity. Chinese scientists are working on reintroducing giant pandas to the wild.
• Shen Wu Tan can be reached at stan@washingtontimes.com.
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