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How we packed off the giant pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

As the zoo prepares to welcome two giant pandas from China, its director Brandie Smith discusses the departure of their predecessors, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and a three-year-old cub.
  1. Anne Gulland

    1. Anne Gulland is a freelance writer based in London.

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Two giant pandas eat iced fruit cake at National Zoological Park on 21 August 2021 in Washington, DC.

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji (right) celebrated its first birthday in 2021. Credit: Sha Hanting/China News Service/Getty

Last week, Brandie Smith joined US First Lady Jill Biden and Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch to announce the arrival of two giant pandas to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC. The animals are due to arrive by the end of the year, more than a year after Smith and her colleagues bade farewell to the zoo’s last panda family.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01727-9

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 12 June 2024: An earlier version of this story misquoted Brandie Smith in her description of shipping the pandas around the world.

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