Panda diplomacy family tree: Here’s every pair loaned to the US by China
China first gifted giant pandas to the U.S. in 1972. Now, they are on loan to American zoos.
NEW YORK —
Zoo Atlanta has two new residents from China.
Giant pandas Fu Shuang, a female panda, and Ping Ping, a male panda, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday aboard the FedEx Panda Express. They are the third pair of giant pandas loaned to the U.S. by China as a form of diplomacy over the past two years.
These pandas were sent one day after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met during a state visit.
China first gifted pandas to the U.S. in 1972 following President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing. First Lady Patricia Nixon mentioned her fondness for giant pandas to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, and so two giant pandas were gifted to the American people as a form of diplomacy.
Since then, the Chinese government has been loaning pandas to American zoos in exchange for an annual base fee of $1 million for research and conservation.
The Get the Facts Data Team went through the reports of the National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Memphis Zoo and Zoo Atlanta and created a family tree from the giant panda pairs that were loaned to the U.S. This does not include short-term exhibition loans, such as the giant pandas loaned for the 1984 Olympic Games.
Nine giant panda pairs have been brought to the country since 1972, and around 25 cubs have been born on U.S. soil. Of these cubs, eight did not survive.
Panda cubs are traditionally named around 100 days after birth. Unnamed cubs died before their naming ceremony.