Probably the most well-known residents of the Nationwide Zoo in Washington, D.C., celebrated half a century of panda diplomacy with China on Saturday, marking the milestone with a cake comprised of frozen vegetables and fruit.
The primary pair of big pandas — Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing — arrived on the Nationwide Zoo in April 1972, as a present from the Chinese language Premier to then-First Woman Pat Nixon.
"I feel they're cute, endearing creatures," Nixon mentioned on the time.
It is now been 50 years for the reason that pandas first tumbled, chomped, flopped, waddled and wrestled their manner into the hearts of Individuals.
"It is 50 years of one of many world's most profitable conservation applications," mentioned Nationwide Zoo director Brandie Smith.
However success took some time. Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing did not mate for greater than a decade — and not one of the 5 cubs they produced survived for various days. Ling Ling died in 1992, and Hsing Hsing died in 1999.
However these early heartbreaks led to some essential discoveries. In 2000, the zoo's second pair of pandas — Mei Xiang and Tian Tian — arrived in D.C., and scientists started studying extra about their reproductive programs.
"Females are solely viable for about two days a 12 months," Smith mentioned. "And so to review that and perceive it, it is not an enormous window."
"Now we actually monitor the hormones," Smith added. "So we watch the hormones change. And we will pinpoint to the minute when the very best time for this panda to breed is."
The outcome? Tai Shan in 2005, Bao Bao in 2013, Bei Bei in 2015 and Xiao Qi Ji in 2020.
All the infants have grown up below the watchful eye of about 2 million guests every year — together with hundreds of thousands extra who tuned in by way of the zoo's round the clock "Panda Cam."
To have fun the half-century mark, zookeeper Nick Schiraldi whipped up the pandas' favourite deal with: truffles comprised of frozen fruit juice, apples, pears, candy potatoes and many bamboo.
"The infant loves the truffles," Schiraldi mentioned. "It is a new factor! He will get to smash 'em, roll 'em round…"
This child, just like the others earlier than him, should return to his ancestral dwelling earlier than his fourth birthday, per the zoo's settlement with China. However hopefully — and numerous science — we'll be falling for a brand new child someday quickly.
