Giant Panda FAQs

The giant pandas’ names are Bao Li [BOW-lee] and Qing Bao [ching-BOW].  

Male Bao Li was born Aug. 4, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Sichuan, to father An An and mother Bao Bao. His name means “treasure” and “energetic” in Mandarin Chinese. Bao Li has a deep connection to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. His mother was born here at the Zoo on Aug. 23, 2013. His grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, are beloved in the Washington, D.C., area, where they served as ambassadors for their species for 23 years. Bao Li came to the Zoo from the Shenshuping Base in Wolong. 

Female Qing Bao was born Sept. 12, 2021, at CCRCGP, to father Qing Qing and mother Jia Mei. Her name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin Chinese. Qing, her father’s name, evokes the lush and mountainous habitat where giant pandas roam in the wild. Bao, which means “treasure,” reflects that she is cherished by all who know her. Qing Bao came to the Zoo from the Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan.

The giant pandas will make their public debut on January 24, 2025. The pandas will undergo a standard 30-day quarantine period starting from arrival. Access to the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, Bird House and Asia Trail will be closed and will remain closed to the public until then.  

Given the immense public interest and excitement surrounding the new bear pair’s arrival, the Zoo is preparing to welcome thousands of visitors daily. NZCBI is working to ramp up operations during what is, traditionally, an off-peak visitation period. This includes onboarding additional Guest Services staff, training volunteers to operate the new Giant Panda Cam system and updating the public walkways and signage within the exhibit.

Yes! Before the pandas’ public debut, Zoo members will be invited to help the bears acclimate to visitors during a 10-day preview period from Jan. 10 to 19, 2025. Reservations are required to participate. Members will be able to reserve free timed-entry passes for the giant panda preview beginning mid-December.  

Zoo members receive exclusive benefits like special opportunities to meet our Zoo residents, complementary parking passes (with Premier memberships and above), discounts at restaurants and gift shops, and more. Learn more about the Zoo’s Membership program.  

Quarantine of new animals is a routine practice in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to reduce risk of introducing parasites or disease to other animals. During this period, animals have access to indoor enclosures and behind-the-scenes areas for several weeks. A team of keepers, nutritionists and veterinarians care for the animals and monitor their health. Meanwhile, staff provide the animals with a variety of species-appropriate enrichment items to keep them active and engaged with their surroundings. 

The pandas arrived aboard a dedicated FedEx “Panda Express” Boeing 777F aircraft on October 15, 2024. FedEx, the Zoo’s long-standing transport partner, provided shipment expertise, a dedicated flight, and ground transport for the new bears from China to Washington, D.C. 

Indoor renovations modernized and upgraded the pandas’ interior habitat and building infrastructure. Staff installed new climbing structures, water features and rockwork that encourage the bears to exercise and play. A new ventilation system provides improved air quality and temperature control, and an upgraded smoke evacuation network would keep the bears and their caretakers safer in the unlikely event of a dangerous situation.  

Improvements to the pandas’ outdoor habitat—including multi-level climbing structures and cooling features—offer the bears more ways to engage with their surroundings. Added rockwork and perimeter fencing brings a new level of safety and security for pandas and visitors alike. Exhibit signage has been updated to welcome visitors to a new era of giant panda conservation.  

The Giant Panda Cam system was also given a refresh. 40 centrally operated cameras, as well as three console machines and the monitors in the Giant Panda Cam operating room, were replaced with new technology. 

Any public information about the new bears will be posted on the Zoo’s website and social media channels. To be among the first to receive panda news, sign up for the Zoo’s newsletter and follow the Zoo on Instagram, X and Facebook.   

Visitors will be able to visit the pandas virtually through the Zoo's Giant Panda Cam. The cam is currently inactive, but will offer live, streaming video of the pandas after their public debut. 

The Giant Panda Cam is one of the Zoo’s animal webcams. These video feeds are free to anyone with an internet connection and offer online visitors a chance to see some of the Zoo’s animals eating, sleeping and socializing in their habitat areas. The Giant Panda Cam, the most popular of the animal cams, has allowed over 100 million viewers to catch a glimpse of the Zoo’s giant pandas in real time since launching in 2001.  

The Zoo will relaunch the Giant Panda Cam after its new pair of pandas make their public debut. The Giant Panda Cam will not be on while the bears are in quarantine.   

In the meantime, virtual visitors can enjoy the Zoo’s other animal webcams, which feature Asian elephants, naked mole-rats and African lions.   

The Giant Panda Cam is made possible by 40 cameras operated from a central system by a corps of specially trained volunteers. As part of the ongoing renovations to the Zoo’s giant panda habitat, all cameras, three console machines and the monitors in the panda cam operating room will be replaced.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is the only place in the nation where you can see giant pandas for free!  

The Zoo's 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., is a popular tourist destination, welcoming nearly 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Smithsonian works to protect animals and conserve wild habitats. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.

The Smithsonian’s giant panda conservation program is one of the world’s leading conservation efforts, proving collaboration and conservation science can save animals and ecosystems. Millions have connected with pandas while visiting the park or watching the Giant Panda Cam. Scientific breakthroughs from Zoo researchers and scientists have helped move the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. However, global conservation efforts are still necessary to ensure the survival of this species.  

By studying giant panda behavior, health, nutrition, genetics, habitat and reproduction, and training the next generation of wildlife professionals, Smithsonian teams are working to give pandas a brighter future in the wild and under human care. Learn more about the program’s history and accomplishments.  

Brandie Smith, NZCBI’s John and Adrienne Mars Director, and Wu Minglu, Secretary General of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, signed a new 10-year breeding and research agreement May 1, 2024. The agreement is effective through April 2034. The Zoo has filed a permit application with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to bring in a pair of giant pandas from China.   

The terms of this agreement are very similar to the previous agreements. A male and female giant panda recommended for breeding will be sent from China to the Zoo. The Zoo and partners in China will conduct cooperative research projects in China and in Washington, D.C. Any cubs born at the Zoo will move to China by age four. The two adult bears will stay at the Zoo until 2034.  

 The Zoo’s 2024 10-year giant panda agreement stipulates an annual fee of $1 million—the same annual amount paid by other zoos who care for and exhibit pandas outside of China—to support research and conservation efforts in China. Smithsonian scientists will continue collaborative research projects, which include restoring giant panda habitat, monitoring wildlife diseases and assessing impacts of climate change. 

Yes. Per the agreement, any cubs born at the Zoo will move to China by age 4 to enter the breeding program. Both Tai Shan and Bao Bao have successfully bred, resulting in five cubs, including Bao Li. Bao Li’s arrival in Washington, D.C., demonstrates how important it is for American-born cubs to go to China. 

Saving animals and entire ecosystems requires vast resources and long-term support. NZCBI, along with countless zoos and international conservation organizations, relies on outside grants and donor contributions to fund long-term conservation research. 

Every zoo that has giant pandas pays an annual fee to support research in China. The annual payment to the China Wildlife Conservation Association supports conservation priorities, including habitat restoration, lab machines and materials to aid panda reproduction, conservation research and maintenance of giant panda-protected areas. Fees to support conservation programs are often part of international collaborative research and animal management agreements. 

The $2.8 million annual cost of the Zoo’s giant panda conservation program is made possible through a combination of public support and federal funding.  

Federal funding covers essential expenses for giant pandas and all animals in the Zoo’s care, including food, medicine, animal care staff and facilities maintenance costs.  

The remaining 74% of the annual giant panda budget is raised from donations, annual membership support and in-park revenue from ticketed events, parking, concessions and merchandise sales. This includes funding for Giant Panda Cam livestream upgrades and maintenance, insurance, permitting, administrative staff and associated operating costs in addition to the Smithsonian’s ongoing research in China and Washington, D.C., and the annual fee paid to the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Federal funding is not used to pay this fee.  

Since 2011, the majority of funding for the Zoo’s giant panda conservation program and the annual payment to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support collaborative research in the giant panda’s native habitat has been provided by David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group and former chair of the Smithsonian Board of Regents. Rubenstein, along with Zoo members, donors and companies, has provided critical support for the program, which is used to fund scientific staff, research in China, an annual fellows program, Giant Panda Cam equipment and maintenance.  

The Smithsonian and Chinese partners will pioneer new conservation techniques and continue research on the health and welfare of giant pandas in human care. This will support research critical to the conservation of giant pandas in the wild.  

Conservation priorities include:  

• Assessing giant pandas’ movements to identify the key forest corridors that make it possible for the bears to find food and mates.  
• Examining how the connectivity of reserves and protected areas support giant pandas and more than 30 other species that share their habitat, including the red panda, golden pheasant and snub-nosed monkey. This information can help scientists improve management strategies, mitigate threats and increase biodiversity.   
• Creating bamboo restoration plots to expand the amount of habitat available for giant pandas.  
• Analyzing the impacts of climate change on giant panda habitat by directly measuring the growth of bamboo under experimentally increased temperatures. Results will inform management and improve resilience to climate change.   
• Offering comprehensive workshops and hands-on training courses for veterinary staff to share expertise and build skills in dental health, geriatric care and anesthetic techniques.   
• Expanding Chinese wildlife professionals’ ability to monitor and manage wildlife and natural resources. 

The Zoo is working to raise $25 million to secure a future for giant pandas in Washington, D.C., and protect this magnificent bear species and the mountain forest habitats it calls home.   

Funds from public and corporate donations will be used over the next 10 years to pay for one-time renovations to giant panda Qing Bao and Bao Li’s new home, upgrades to the Giant Panda Cam and research that protects wild pandas and hundreds of mammal, reptile and bird species that share their mountain habitat.   

 There are three ways members of the public can help: donate, become a Zoo member and shop online or in person during Zoo visits.  

 As with all animals at the Zoo, federal funding covers essential expenses like food, medicine, animal care staff and facilities maintenance. The Zoo raises 74% of its annual giant panda conservation program budget, including the annual payment to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support collaborative conservation research, from donations, annual membership support and in-park revenue.  

Pandas are a vulnerable species and rely on conservation efforts for their survival. Although pandas are no longer listed as ‘Endangered’ on the global list of species at risk for extinction, there are only about 1,864 wild pandas remaining. 

Ever since the Zoo received Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling from China in 1972 as part of President Nixon's historic visit, Smithsonian scientists have been leaders in the field of giant panda biology and conservation. The Zoo is continuing that leadership through research initiatives 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. 

They are difficult to census in the wild, but Chinese scientists believe there are about 1,864 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, 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 there needs to be a population of giant pandas in zoos as an insurance policy against extinction. 

In the wild, giant pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo. Here at the Zoo, they are fed bamboo, as well as highly nutritious biscuits, carrots and apples.

The Zoo's Department of Nutrition grows bamboo at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Bamboo is also supplied from 15 stands located in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Thanks for offering, but the Zoo does not accept bamboo donations. Please support the Zoo's panda conservation efforts by donating online or becoming a member. 

No. Like any bear, adult giant pandas are very strong and potentially dangerous, so staff never go in an enclosure with them.

Giant pandas are adapted to living in high-altitude forests in the mountains of central China, and so can easily deal with the wintry weather of Washington, D.C. 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.

Although Zoo scientists have spent more than five decades contributing to the base of knowledge about panda conservation, there is still much to learn about this rare animal species. Each giant panda is different, and those differences bring opportunities to learn new things about their biology. Learn more about the science behind the Zoo’s giant panda veterinary care here. 

For example, when it comes to the medical care for giant pandas, there are many unknowns, specifically in the areas of cardiology, blood pressure, reproduction, pregnancy, gastrointestinal health, dental attrition and pharmacokinetics (how a panda’s body metabolizes and absorbs medicines). Research surrounding these subjects will advance global scientific knowledge of the species.  

In addition, the Zoo will continue its reproductive and behavioral monitoring program. The new pandas will enable Smithsonian scientists to find more effective methods for natural breeding and/or assisted reproduction.  

The Zoo team will assess the female giant panda’s reproductive health, including monitoring her hormones, conducting vaginal cytology and uterine ultrasounds. This will allow the animal care team to assess her health and inform timing for natural breeding and/or assisted reproduction.  

Smithsonian scientists will collect sperm samples from the male annually to evaluate its quantity and quality for potential use in artificial insemination and/or cryo-banking (freezing for future use). Over the course of several breeding seasons, scientists will assess the sperm to better understand changes in male reproductivity. This information will help scientists plan for reproductive success.  

The new giant pandas are recommended for breeding when they reach maturity. Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between 4 and 7 years of age. The Zoo’s new pandas, Qing Bao and Bao Li, are both 3 years old. In the future, the Zoo’s animal care team will watch for appropriate affiliative behaviors and determine—with guidance from Chinese partners—whether to move forward with natural breeding or artificial insemination.  

Zoo staff will watch for behaviors indicating the pandas have reached sexual maturity.  

They will look for signs of rut, which is the period when males ready themselves for breeding by patrolling their habitat, scent-marking, exhibiting play behaviors and soliciting attention. Typically, rut lasts from November to May or June.  

They will also look for behavioral, physiological and hormonal indicators that the female is in estrus: vocalizing, restlessness, water play, scent-anointing and swelling of the external genital area. When urine samples show a rise in the female’s estrogen levels, it indicates she is close to ovulation. The priority will be the health of the female and any potential offspring. 

Panda gestation length ranges from 90 to 180 days, with an average pregnancy lasting 135 days. This wide variation in gestation occurs because the fertilized egg usually floats freely 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 weighs about 3 to 5 ounces. In American black bears, the actual period of time that the embryo develops following implantation is about eight weeks. For pandas, actual development time is probably similar. Much of a panda's physical development occurs after birth.

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.

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 ranges over a larger area in Asia. Its fur is a reddish color, and it eats bamboo. Red pandas are not related to giant pandas.

Pandas are solitary animals, but they vocalize extensively during 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.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo's website has plenty of information about visiting the Zoo, including hours, parking, transportation, driving instructions and more. Admission to the Zoo is FREE.

All of the Smithsonian's National Zoo's information on giant pandas is located on this website. The Zoo has no additional information to send.