Washington DC’s National Zoo has just received a big package from FedEx: Two giant pandas arriving on long-term loan from China on a special flight aboard a FedEx 777 cargo plane.
The pair of 3-year-olds, Qing Bao and Bao Li, will continue a long tradition at the Zoo, which was the location of the first Panda ambassadors from China who arrived shortly after the Nixon Administration opened diplomatic relations with China’s communist government.
The flight preparations included stocking the plane with bamboo shoots, carrots and Chinese cornbread for the flight, as well as water and medicine. Their human companions included veterinarians and zoo keepers.
It will be a while, though, before they are ‘at home’ to visitors; first comes a 30-day quarantine, and then a period of adjusting to their new habitat and to their zookeepers.
