Giant panda News

As keepers prepared to say bye-bye to Bao Bao, they shared some of their favorite memories of the playful and inquisitive cub who made history.

Relive some of giant panda Bao Bao's best moments in this video!

At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, giant pandas sit in their habitat munching contentedly on bamboo shoots. But, consider that giant pandas—native to China—were once on the brink of extinction. And, if not for passionate and dedicated conservationists, the world may have been devoid of pandas.

Giant panda Bao Bao will depart the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China Feb. 21.

Join the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for “Bye Bye, Bao Bao,” a series of online and on-site celebratory events to bid a fond farewell to giant panda Bao Bao (BOW-BOW) before she departs for China.

Bei Bei is continuing to recover well from his major surgery, and he started eating small amounts of bamboo again a few weeks ago. He now gets several meals of leaf eater biscuits, sweet potatoes and apples, and several bamboo feedings every day. He eagerly consumes all his food—much as he has since...

As Bei Bei recovers from surgery, his diet is slowly returning to normal but he still needs to wait until he can eat bamboo. However, he continues to gain weight, and has crossed the 100-pound (45 kilos) mark. While Bei Bei continues his recovery, we have adjusted Mei Xiang’s schedule to ensure that...

With temperatures dropping, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo continues to ensure that all of its animals are healthy and comfortable.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s giant panda cub Bei Bei is stable and recovering following an emergency bowel obstruction surgery to remove a dense, masticated lemon-sized mass of bamboo.

Bei Bei is becoming more and more independent from his mother Mei Xiang every day. It is hard to believe, but the time is rapidly approaching when he will live separately from her. He has a voracious appetite, and relies very little on milk from Mei Xiang. He weighs 90 pounds (the largest of Mei...

Giant panda Bao Bao will depart the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China in late winter, within the first few months of 2017.

Read on for some of the most frequently asked questions about Bao Bao's departure.

Our veterinary team visited the giant panda habitat last week for routine checkups on all of the pandas. Of special note in Bei Bei's check-up, the team successfully collected blood and gave him two vaccinations. He held still for the procedure because keepers treated him to honey water. Keepers...

One of the defining and iconic characteristics that makes giant pandas unique among bears is their diet -- bamboo. They evolved to eat bamboo, which is a type of grass, and although it makes up about 99 percent of their diet, pandas have the gastrointestinal tract of a carnivore. All bamboo might...

Over Labor Day weekend, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released excellent news about its Red List of Threatened Species. It upgraded the giant panda from "endangered" to "vulnerable." The latest giant panda census counted more than 1,800 in the wild -- nearly double the...

WHAT: A traditional Zhuazhou ceremony for giant panda cub Bei Bei. (Media opportunity only. Not open to the public. Public celebration for Bei Bei, Bao Bao and Tian Tian's birthday begins at 11 a.m.)

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 20 
8 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Zhuazhou ceremony
1 p.m.: Giant pandas receive frozen...

Bei Bei's still growing like a weed! He was 37 pounds as of March 17 and growing daily. We have started very basic training with him.

As some of our panda cam viewers may have noticed, we've made some changes at the panda house recently. Each giant panda requires an individualized care plan. It's been a great learning experience for the Zoo's panda team to care for Bei Bei.

Mei Xiang gains more experience with each cub, and it...

On behalf of the entire Zoo, we'd like to thank the 7,498 people who traveled far and wide to meet Bei Bei last Saturday! The panda house is now open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Now that Bei Bei is bigger and more active, he's not always inclined to sit still on the scale long enough to get an...

Representatives from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute helped lead a Giant Panda Laboratory Diagnostic International Exchange Training workshop with staff from the China Conservation & Research Centre for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in November. The workshop was the third and final...

As of December 7, Bei Bei weighed about 16 pounds (7.32 kg). Even though he's grown exponentially over the last few months, he still won't be eating bamboo for a while. However, he has started to mouth it, which is typical of a cub his age.

Bei Bei's teeth are continuing to come in, but we're not...

During a routine exam on Monday November 30, Bei Bei weighed 15 pounds (6.89 kg)! He's getting more difficult to weigh now that he is trying to climb out of the weighing tub! In stark comparison, his older sister Bao Bao weighs almost 150 pounds (68 kg). At his exam on November 19, we saw that Bei...

Bei Bei is a healthy 12.5 pound boy and he's on the move. Although he took his first steps, the rock work provided more traction than the slippery floor, so it will take him a little longer to figure out how to walk on this surface. The other cubs were able to eventually figure it out though so we...