After I first turned a large panda keeper on the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo, I needed to pinch myself. It was a childhood dream of mine to take care of these unbelievable animals. I grew up within the Washington, D.C., space, and my household visited the Zoo’s first pair of pandas—Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing—usually.
As we speak, my profession has supplied me the unbelievable honor of working with six big pandas, together with our nearly 24-year-old male Tian Tian, 23-year-old feminine Mei Xiang, and their 4 cubs: male Tai Shan (born 2005), feminine Bao Bao (born 2013), male Bei Bei (born 2015) and our latest cub, male Xiao Qi Ji (born 2020). As a result of the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature considers big pandas to be weak to extinction, each cub born here’s a win for conservation and a step towards saving the species.
Our big pandas are on the high of many Zoo guests’ “should see” listing. It’s actually particular to see them in individual, since only a few stay exterior of China. In actual fact, ours is one in all solely three zoos in the US to exhibit these beloved bears.
