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Have questions? Here are answers. If the answer to your
question is not below, try the page on Panda Facts. Almost all of our
information already online or will be added soon. Questions about Mei Xiang and her cub are answered on the Mom and Cub FAQ page, and information about panda cubs' development is available on this timeline. If you cannot find the information on this
site, go to Panda
Resources to explore other places on the web with information
on giant pandas.
Please look through the answers below before you email us your question about
giant pandas. We do not answer questions that are already
answered on the site.
Please note: We have no additional information to send you.
Giant Pandas at the National Zoo
The National Zoo Giant Panda Site
Giant Pandas at the National Zoological Park
When and why did the National Zoo bring giant pandas back to Washington?
What are their names? What do their names mean?
How old are the pandas, and how much do they weigh?
How do they handle the Washington weather?
What will happen with any offspring?
Do keepers go in the enclosures with the pandas?
Where did the $10 million come from to bring the pandas to the Zoo?
What is Friends of the National Zoo's role?
How long will Mei, Tian, and Tai be at the National Zoo?
What is the status of giant pandas in the wild, and where do they live?
What is a giant panda? Is a giant panda a bear or a raccoon?
What is a red panda? What is a lesser panda?
How long is the gestation period of a panda?
What sounds do giant pandas make?
I want to visit. Tell me all the details.
How can people outside the Washington area see the pandas?
How can I arrange to bring a tour group or school group to the Zoo to see the pandas?
How can I volunteer to work with pandas at the Zoo?
What is Friends of the National Zoo's role?
I have to write a school report on pandas. Can you help?
Can you send information and activities on giant pandas?
How can I arrange to bring a tour group or school group to the Zoo to see the pandas?
The National Zoo Giant Panda Site
How do I view my Panda Postcard?
Why aren't the PandaCams working?
How can people outside the Washington area see the pandas?
Giant Pandas at the National Zoological Park
When and why did the National Zoo bring giant pandas back to Washington?
The Zoo's two adult giant pandas arrived on December 6, 2000. Ever since the National Zoo received Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling from China in 1972 as part of President Nixon's historic visit, scientists here have been leaders in the field of giant panda biology and conservation. The Zoo is continuing that leadership through research involving the new pandas and research in China that will help save giant pandas in the wild. Furthermore, giant pandas can inspire visitors to care for wildlife and threatened ecosystems around the world. They are ambassadors for conservation.
What are their names?
Mei Xiang (may SHONG), the female, means "beautiful fragrance"
in Chinese. Tian Tian (t-YEN t-YEN), the male, means "more
and more." Their male cub, born on July 9, 2005, was named Tai Shan (tie SHON) by a public vote. His name means "peaceful mountain." 
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How old are the pandas, and
how much do they weigh?
Mei Xiang turned nine on July 22, 2007, and Tian Tian turned ten on August 27, 2007.
Mei Xiang weighs about 230 pounds, and Tian Tian
weighs about 275 pounds. Both are young and
healthy. Adult female pandas usually reach 220 pounds,
and adult males 250 pounds.
Their cub, Tai Shan, weighed 125 pounds in late April. See how he's grown.
How do the pandas handle the Washington
weather?
Giant pandas are adapted to living in high-altitude forests
in the mountains of central China, and so they can easily
deal with the wintry weather of Washington. However, the heat
and humidity of the summers here are more difficult for them.
Therefore, the Zoo has installed air-conditioned grottos and
misting sprays in their renovated outdoor enclosure so the
pandas can stay outside all summer long, if they choose to.
Have they had any offspring?
The National Zoo is a world leader at
breeding endangered species. Our giant pandas are part
of a breeding program that carefully matches potential giant
panda parents in order to keep the population genetically
healthy well into the future. On July 9, 2005, Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub. We learned on August 2, 2005, that the cub is male. On October 17, when he was 100 days old, he was named Tai Shan by a vote open to the public. More than 200,000 votes were cast.
What will happen with any offspring?
Any baby born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would belong to China,
and the Zoo would likely return the baby to China once it's
old enough, so that it could become part of the breeding population
there.
In April 2007, we were very happy to announce that Tai Shan will remain at the Zoo an additional two years past his second birthday, which was July 9, 2007. Some time after that, he will be sent to China, as per the Zoo's agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
What do they eat?
In the wild, giant pandas eat bamboo almost exclusively. Here
at the Zoo, they are fed bamboo as well as highly nutritious
biscuits and carrots and apples. They are each being fed more
than 50 pounds of bamboo a day—about ten times more food than
an average person consumes. They need all that bamboo because
bamboo, which is a grass, contains very few nutrients.
Where do you get your bamboo?
Most of the bamboo the pandas eat is grown on a farm in southern
Maryland.
Can I donate bamboo?
Thanks for offering, but we don't accept bamboo donations.
Do keepers go in the enclosures with
the pandas?
No. Like any bear, giant pandas are very strong and potentially
dangerous, so staff never go in an enclosure with them.
Where did the $10 million come from to bring the pandas to the Zoo?
Fujifilm's incredible donation of $7.8 million has gone toward acquiring the pandas, funding our education programs, and building the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat. We have also received funds from Discovery Communication's Animal Planet and private donors. No federal funds were used to acquire Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. The money will be used to support giant panda conservation projects, such as protecting forests in China and assisting poorly-funded giant panda reserves in China. Here at the Zoo, we'll be funding research, education, and the construction of a new giant panda habitat. Learn more about the Zoo's giant panda research.
What is Friends of the National Zoo's
role?
Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) is a nonprofit organization that
helps the Smithsonian National Zoo fulfill its mission to
study and save wildlife and educate the public about conservation.
FONZ started the Giant Panda Conservation Fund in 1998 to
help raise money to bring pandas to the Zoo, to create
a new, state-of-the-art exhibit for them: the new Fujifilm Giant
Panda Habitat, which opened in October 2006, and
to support efforts
in the United States and China to save giant pandas from
extinction.
How long will Mei, Tian, and Tai be at the
National Zoo?
The Chinese have agreed to loan us Mei and Tian for a ten-year
period, so we will have them here at least until 2010.
In April 2007, we were very happy to announce that Tai Shan will remain at the Zoo an additional two years past his second birthday, which was July 9, 2007. Some time after that, he will be sent to China, as per the Zoo's agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Giant Panda Facts
What is the status of giant pandas in the wild, and where do they live?
Giant pandas are a critically endangered species. They are difficult to census in the wild, but scientists believe there are about 1,600 remaining in the wild. These individuals live in scattered populations in central China, mostly in Sichuan Province, but also in Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces. Giant pandas specialize in eating bamboo, and so if the temperate bamboo forests in the mountains of central China continue to be cut down, there will be no room for giant pandas in the wild. This is why it is so crucial to support conservation research in China, and why we need to have a population of giant pandas in zoos as an insurance policy against extinction.
What is a giant panda? Is a giant panda
a bear or a raccoon?
The giant panda is a member of the bear family, which scientists
call the Ursidae. Among the bears, it is most closely related
to the spectacled bear of South America. Scientists no longer
believe that giant pandas are more like raccoons than bears.
Also, giant pandas are not marsupials (pouched mammals).
What is a red panda? What is a lesser
panda?
The red panda,
sometimes called the lesser panda, is a raccoon-sized mammal
that lives in the same kind of habitat as giant pandas but
over a larger area in Asia. Its fur is reddish and it eats
bamboo. Scientists aren't sure what the red pandas' nearest
relatives are. Some say raccoons and other species in the
family Procyonidae; others say bears in the family Ursidae.
How long is the gestation period of a panda?
Panda gestation length ranges from three to five months,
or 90 to 160 days, with an average pregnancy lasting 135 days.
This two-month variation in gestation occurs because the fertilized
panda egg usually floats free in the mother's uterus before
it implants and begins developing. Once the embryo is attached
to the uterine wall, its development continues until a panda
is born; newborn pandas are blind, very small and without
almost any fur. A newborn panda is about three to five ounces. In American black bears, the actual period of time
the embryo is developing after implantation is about eight
weeks. Pandas' actual development time is probably similar.
Much of a panda's physical development occurs after birth.
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What sounds do giant pandas make?
Pandas vocalize extensively in social interactions. They "chirp"
during mating and "honk" in distress. A "bleat"
(a twittering goat sound) is a friendly contact call. A "chomp"
(a rapid opening and closing of the mouth so the teeth audibly
meet) is a mild defensive threat. A "bark" is used
to scare an enemy. A squeal indicates submission or pain.
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What do they eat?
In the wild, giant pandas eat bamboo almost exclusively. Here
at the Zoo, they are fed bamboo as well as highly nutritious
biscuits and carrots and apples. They are each being fed more
than 50 pounds of bamboo a day—about ten times more food than
an average person consumes. They need all that bamboo because
bamboo, being a grass, contains very few nutrients.
Visit the Pandas
I want to visit. Tell me all the details.
Our website has plenty of information about visiting the Zoo, including hours, parking, transportation,
driving instructions, and more. Admission to the Zoo is FREE.
How can people outside the Washington area see the pandas?
If you can't see our pandas in person, the easiest thing to do is click on the panda web cams. You can see live, streaming video of Mei Xiang and the cub 24 hours a day. But we also hope people from out of town can visit Washington, D.C., and stop by sometime!
How can I arrange to bring a tour or school group to the Zoo to see the pandas?
For tour groups, please contact Guest Services at 202.633.4480. For school groups and information about education programs, please call 202.633.4455.
How Can I Help?
How can I volunteer to work with pandas
at the Zoo?
Many people volunteer at the Zoo. For complete information,
including whom to contact, read about volunteering
with FONZ and the Zoo.
What is Friends of the National Zoo's
role?
FONZ is a nonprofit organization that helps the Smithsonian
National Zoo fulfill its mission to study and save wildlife
and educate the public about conservation. FONZ started the
Giant Panda Conservation Fund in 1998 to help raise money to
bring pandas to the Zoo and to create a new, state-of-the-art
exhibit for them: the Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat,
scheduled to open October 17, 2006.
Can I donate bamboo?
Thanks for offering, but we don't accept bamboo donations.
Teachers and Students
I have to write a school report on pandas. Can you help?
You will find all the information you need for your report on pandas on the Internet. Start with Giant Panda Facts then surf around the other giant panda pages on our website, including the page on panda resources.
Can you send information and activities on giant pandas?
All our information on giant pandas is located on this website. We have no additional information to send you.
You can print out our Saving Giant Pandas activity book.
How can I arrange to bring a tour or school group to the Zoo to see the pandas?
For tour groups, please contact Guest Services at 202.633.4480. For school groups and information about education programs, please call 202.633.4455.
How do I view my Panda E-card?
If your email allows it, the easiest way to see your card is to double click on the web address you received in the email notification. Next best is to copy and paste the address into the address box of your browser. If you must type in the address by hand, make sure both spelling and capitalization are exactly as they appear in the email. If none of these work, check the date the card was mailed. If it was sent more than ten days earlier, the card has been automatically deleted from our system and can not be retrieved. If the card is current and you still can't open it, forward the email you received to web@fonz.org and we'll try to figure out what's wrong.
Why aren't the Panda Cams working?
First, make sure you have Windows Media Player (available for free from the Microsoft website) correctly installed on your computer. If the cams are still not working, it could be that they are temporarily down for repairs or adjustments. Or, too many people may be trying to view the cams at one time. In either case, check back in a little while.
How can people outside the Washington area see the pandas?
If you can't see our pandas in person, the easiest thing to do is click on the panda web cams. You can see live, streaming video of Mei Xiang and the cub throughout the day. But we also hope people from out of town can visit Washington, D.C., and stop by sometime soon!
