Source: bangordailynews.com - Tuesday, August 27, 2019
President Richard Nixon once mused on the sex lives of the National Zoo’s giant pandas. In 2015, first lady Michelle Obama and the first lady of China, Peng Liyuan, attended the naming of one of the cubs. Now, in light of the U.S.-China trade war, the giant pandas could again take on a high political profile. The National Zoo’s beloved black-and-white bears, which have delighted Washingtonians for generations and have created joyous episodes of pandamania and profit, have often been on the world stage. But next year, the extended 20-year Chinese lease of the two adults — Mei Xiang, a female, and Tian Tian, a male — will be up on Dec. 7. The zoo said it has not started discussions with the Chinese about the lease and could not speculate on an outcome. And the U.S. political landscape by late 2020 is a mystery. “Our agreements are based on science surrounding the giant pandas,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said. “We’ve accomplished a lot over the last 40-plus years. Now both sides have to take look at what the future science goals should be and they go from there.” Chinese and American giant panda experts get on “exceptionally well,” she said. The zoo’s only other giant panda, Bei Bei, who turned 4 on Thursday, is slated to be gone within the next few months. By prior agreement with the Chinese, all giant panda cubs born in U.S. zoos must be sent to a breeding program in China once they turn 4. Two of the zoo’s cubs have be
Source: Breaking News
President Richard Nixon once mused on the sex lives of the National Zoo’s giant pandas. In 2015, first lady Michelle Obama and the first lady of China, Peng Liyuan, attended the naming of one of the cubs. Now, in light of the U.S.-China trade war, the giant pandas could again take on a high political profile. The National Zoo’s beloved black-and-white bears, which have delighted Washingtonians for generations and have created joyous episodes of pandamania and profit, have often been on the world stage. But next year, the extended 20-year Chinese lease of the two adults — Mei Xiang, a female, and Tian Tian, a male — will be up on Dec. 7. The zoo said it has not started discussions with the Chinese about the lease and could not speculate on an outcome. And the U.S. political landscape by late 2020 is a mystery. “Our agreements are based on science surrounding the giant pandas,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said. “We’ve accomplished a lot over the last 40-plus years. Now both sides have to take look at what the future science goals should be and they go from there.” Chinese and American giant panda experts get on “exceptionally well,” she said. The zoo’s only other giant panda, Bei Bei, who turned 4 on Thursday, is slated to be gone within the next few months. By prior agreement with the Chinese, all giant panda cubs born in U.S. zoos must be sent to a breeding program in China once they turn 4. Two of the zoo’s cubs have be
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Source: Breaking News
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