The three giant pandas in Washington's National Zoo , Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji -- are set to return to China in early December with no public signs that a 50-year old exchange agreement will continue.
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National Zoo officials have remained tight-lipped about the prospects of renewing or extending the agreement - however, the zoo appears pessimistic having just finished a week-long celebration called Panda Palooza: A Giant Farewell.
The potential end of the National Zoo's panda era comes amid what veteran China-watchers say is a larger trend. With diplomatic tensions running high between Beijing and a number of western governments, China appears to be gradually pulling back its pandas from multiple western zoos as their agreements expire.
China expert Dennis Wilder, called the trend "punitive panda diplomacy," noting that two other American zoos have lost their pandas in recent years, while zoos in Scotland and Australia are facing similar departures with no signs of their loan agreements being renewed.
Beijing currently lends out 65 pandas to 19 countries through "cooperative research programs" with a stated mission to better protect the vulnerable species. The pandas return to China when they reach old age and any cubs born are sent to China around age 3 or 4.
The San Diego zoo returned its pandas in 2019 and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee zoo went home earlier this year. The departure of the National Zoo's bears would mean that the only giant pandas left in America are at the Atlanta Zoo -- and that loan agreement expires late next year.
Wilder cited a litany of Chinese-American flashpoints: sanctions imposed by the US government on prominent Chinese citizens and officials; restrictions on the import of Chinese semiconductors; accusations that Chinese-made fentanyl is flooding American cities; suspicion over Chinese ownership of the social media platform TikTok; and the uproar early this year over the Chinese balloons floating over America.
Anti-American sentiment rose in China earlier this year when Le Le, a male panda on loan to the zoo in Memphis, died suddenly at the age of 24. Pandas generally live 15 to 20 years in the wild, while those in human care often live to be around 30.
Le Le's unexpected death prompted an explosion on Chinese social media platforms with widespread allegations that the Memphis zoo had mistreated the bear and its female companion, Ya Ya.
The heat grew so intense that the Memphis Zoo released a statement responding to what it called "misinformation" about its pandas and stating that Ya Ya has "a chronic skin and fur condition" that "makes her hair look thin and patchy," and Le Le died of natural causes.
Ya Ya was returned to China on schedule in April when the loan agreement expired and received a celebrity's welcome at Shanghai's airport.
Wilder pointed to the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November as a potential forum for President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to make headlines by breaking the deadlock.
Australian Associated Press
