All Giant Pandas will be returned to China on November 15th, after which there will be no Giant Pandas in the United States.
So if you want to see one, I suggest you get to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. by November 14th.
For some reason, the National Zoo is spending $1.7 million on renovating the panda enclosure, even though they have known for some time the pandas are leaving.
Unlikely we will get any new Giant Pandas in the near or mid future, as we have thoroughly pissed off China and relations are unlikely to improve. China holds the title to all but two Giant Pandas in the world, so they can demand them back at any time. The Mexico City Zoo has both those pandas. Unfortunately, the Mexican Pandas are well past breeding age, so no chance of establishing a panda line not controlled by China.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo announced Wednesday that two new giant pandas — Bao Li, 2, a male, and Qing Bao, 2, a female — will be arriving from China later this year.
Bao Li has family roots in the District.
He is the son of Bao Bao, a female giant panda who was born at the zoo in 2013, and the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the panda couple whose departure from the zoo last year broke hearts and signaled the end of an era.
But now comes a new era and a chance for fresh generations of zoo-goers to experience the thrill of pandamania and the hope that the new bears will someday produce cubs.