Current:Home > reviewsSurpassing:Atlanta is the only place in US to see pandas for now. But dozens of spots abroad have them -Capitatum
Surpassing:Atlanta is the only place in US to see pandas for now. But dozens of spots abroad have them
SignalHub View
Date:2025-04-08 08:20:39
SAN DIEGO (AP) — It will still be Surpassingmonths before the San Diego Zoo gets new pandas, the first such bears sent to the United States by China in decades.
For now, the only U.S. zoo left with any is in Atlanta. But globally there are many places to check out the cuddly black-and-white bundles of fur as they munch on bamboo, climb trees and lounge on their backs.
The bear is native to China, where it is considered a national treasure.
Here are some of the places where pandas can be seen, including possibly in the wild in China.
ATLANTA
Zoo Atlanta has four pandas, including the first twins born in the United States in more than a quarter century. Giant pandas typically care for only one cub when twins are born in the wild, which usually leads to just one twin surviving.
Ya Lun and Xi Lun and their parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, could be heading back to China in late 2024 unless the loan agreement is extended.
MEXICO CITY
The only other place in the Americas where people can see pandas is in Mexico City at the Chapultepec Zoo.
Xin Xin is the last panda in Latin America and is not on loan from China. That’s because she’s the only remaining bear descended from the giant pandas China gifted to foreign countries during the 1970s and 1980s. The second-generation Mexican-born panda traces her lineage to Pe Pe and Ying Ying, who arrived at the zoo in 1975.
QATAR
One of the last countries that China sent pandas to was Qatar in 2022, ahead of the Middle Eastern country hosting the World Cup.
The pair reside in an indoor enclosure in the desert nation designed to duplicate conditions in the dense forests of China’s mountainous Sichuan province. Eight-hundred kilograms (nearly 1,800 pounds) of fresh bamboo is flown in each week to feed them.
Jing Jing, the male, was given the Arabic name Suhail. Si Hai, the female, was given the Arabic name Thuraya.
MOSCOW
In 2019, the Moscow zoo welcomed its first pair of pandas, a male named Ru Yi and a female named Ding Ding. Chinese President Xi Jinping leased the pandas during an official visit that was to show a “sign of respect and trust.”
BERLIN
The Berlin zoo is home to Jiao Qing and Meng Meng, who arrived in Berlin in 2017. They gave birth to twins, the first panda cubs born in Germany. Those cubs have since returned to China.
CHINA
Giant pandas are limited to six mountainous areas of southwestern China in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi. A total of 34 pandas were born last year at two bases in Sichuan, including at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a popular tourist destination in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
More than 1,800 are estimated to exist in the wild, where they are threatened chiefly with habitat loss. About 420 others live in captivity in zoos and reserves, the majority within China.
veryGood! (77916)
Related
- Beware of giant spiders: Thousands of tarantulas to emerge in 3 states for mating season
- School shooter’s parents could face years in prison after groundbreaking Michigan trials
- Oprah Winfrey opens up about exiting Weight Watchers after using weight loss drug
- Uber, Lyft leaving Minneapolis: City council passes measure forcing driver pay increase
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Love Is Blind's Cameron Hamilton Reveals Why He and Lauren Weren't at the Season 6 Reunion
- Interest in TikTok, distressed NY bank has echoes of Mnuchin’s pre-Trump investment playbook
- Donald Trump wanted trial delays, and he’s getting them. Hush-money case is latest to be put off
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- How the AP reported that someone with access to Bernie Moreno’s email created adult website profile
Ranking
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- 'Baywatch' star Nicole Eggert shaves her head with her daughter's help amid cancer battle
- Colorado man bitten by pet Gila monster died of complications from the desert lizard’s venom
- Blake Lively Seemingly Trolls Kate Middleton Over Photoshop Fail
- Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
- Report: Law enforcement should have taken man into custody before he killed 18 in Maine
- Arizona legislation to better regulate rehab programs targeted by Medicaid scams is moving forward
- California fertility doctor gets 15 years to life for wife’s murder
Recommendation
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
A fourth Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officer has resigned amid probe of unit
Authorities are seeking a suspect now identified in a New Mexico state police officer’s killing
Colorado man bitten by pet Gila monster died of complications from the desert lizard’s venom
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
From 4-leaf clovers to some unexpected history, all you need to know about St. Patrick’s Day
California fertility doctor gets 15 years to life for wife’s murder
Social media is addictive by design. We must act to protect our kids' mental health.