The National Zoo’s panda program is ending after more than 50 years.
Three giant pandas left their enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, and departed by plane back to China on Wednesday, marking the end of more than 50 years of Chinese pandas being housed at the zoo.
The black and white bears – Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their youngest cub, Xiao Qi Ji – were transported from the zoo in crates and loaded onto a FedEx aircraft at Dulles International Airport, taking off around 1 p.m.
Panda Express FedEx Boeing 777-FS2 (reg. N886FD) departed IAD at 12:50 EST to Anchorage where it landed at 16:06 ASK.
The Smithsonian National Zoo was the first US zoo to showcase pandas as part of what’s been called “panda diplomacy.”
The second leg is from Anchorage to Chengdu where the pandas are expected to arrive by 23:00 CST.
The pandas’ departure from the National Zoo leaves Zoo Atlanta as the only other US zoo to feature pandas from China, and not for much longer. The contracts for Atlanta’s four bears expire next year, with no word on an extension.
