Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2023

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Great Argus said:
It entertains me the "unofficial mascot" of D.C. and the National Zoo is an animal we don't even own, pay a million a year just to have, and can be recalled by the loaning country at whim. Relations soured, and bye-bye mascot til who knows when. Just feels silly, sure pandas are charismatic but I find that situation laughable.
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There are very few countries, let alone cities, that have exhibited pandas for over 50 years. Pair that with the Chinese Embassy down the street and the high influx of international students and that's why they're an honorary mascot for DC.
 
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NAIB Volunteer said:
There are very few countries, let alone cities, that have exhibited pandas for over 50 years. Pair that with the Chinese Embassy down the street and the high influx of international students and that's why they're an honorary mascot for DC.
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Still a waste of time, space and money though.
 
This situation is very political. I think there’s two things worth mentioning here:
1) is the political situation between the United States and China conductive to allowing pandas to move between the two countries (for better or for worse, regardless of your own political persuasion, it’s certainly no!)
2) is the federal government going to give the Smithsonian the money they need to fund Panda’s in DC? This could be more difficult than it was in the year 2000.
 
Great Argus said:
It entertains me the "unofficial mascot" of D.C. and the National Zoo is an animal we don't even own, pay a million a year just to have, and can be recalled by the loaning country at whim. Relations soured, and bye-bye mascot til who knows when. Just feels silly, sure pandas are charismatic but I find that situation laughable.
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This feels a very sentimental viewing is the situation.


Wisp O' Mist said:
Still a waste of time, space and money though.
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This argument has droned on for as long as ZooChat has existed. Not sure this adds anything to the current discussion.
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
No, not going to happen. Probably a different bear species will take up that space instead. Atlanta's pandas are leaving in the spring and they are the last in North America, and I would not expect another Giant Panda in the U.S for at least five to ten years.
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I’d like to add that Atlanta has not disclosed when their pandas are going back (at least to my knowledge). Their panda contract on their adults like Smithsonian’s runs through December and unless they send them early like National is doing only the cubs will be returning winter/spring as they along with nationals were supposed to go back in 2020 but COVID(ATL) and Mei’s pregnancy(NZP)delayed things and although some of species have been decided, they have not been announced publicly as of yet and I doubt they will until right up to their replacement as is the trend with the Smithsonian. They’ve had a female sloth bear for a little over 3 weeks now and haven’t even acknowledged it. And had P-horse for months prior to their announcement as well. Let’s not forget that they never even announced the baby sea lion that was born there a year or two back, that was announced by the receiving institution who took back its dad.
 
I was very, very upset when I heard about the official date earlier.

I've been spending over a month trying to get everything arranged to allow for a trip on November 16-19 to Washington DC - while I've wanted to revisit the facility in general for a while, and to visit some of the museums I missed on my trip as a child, the exact timing was specifically to make sure to see the pandas before they left. That wasn't the point of the trip in terms of location but very much the point in terms of time. I'm very disappointed but especially since the last day the animals will be present is the day before my scheduled arrival, that left a very bitter taste in my mouth at first. I could probably have pulled the trip to early November if I'd had more notice but once I was scheduled for mid-November I let that period fill up, and a family member's birthday is the 14th (plus work earlier in the week) so I can't just adjust up a few days, either. I also received this news during a busy day at work so it wasn't a great time to lose out on something I wanted to do.

I think I've discovered why the date was moved up though. It looks like November 17 will be the next potential government shutdown, and the fact this is one day after the pandas are due to leave has made me wonder if there was a concern about shipping them home safely in a possible shutdown situation and/or missing the crucial deadlines and they simply moved it up to avoid those potential problems. Looking at it through that lens, it's much more understandable why they had to move the date up!

I feel much better now and my emotional reaction has started to pass. I'll still visit sometime but I'll likely hold off until next year and maybe go with friends instead of squeezing in during this winter, and hopefully save some money.
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
I 100% expect to see overflowing crowds at the zoo in the next three weeks! :mad:
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I’d anyone plans on visiting prior to the 15th, definitely come right at 8am. That’s what I did on Sunday and I was treated to a very small crowd and some active Pandas. Walked pass again during the afternoon to go to the Bird House, and I had never seen such a big crowd at a zoo, heck maybe just anywhere in general. As an additional bonus, all of the other animals on the Asia Trail were very active.
 
KiwiBirb said:
I’d anyone plans on visiting prior to the 15th, definitely come right at 8am. That’s what I did on Sunday and I was treated to a very small crowd and some active Pandas. Walked pass again during the afternoon to go to the Bird House, and I had never seen such a big crowd at a zoo, heck maybe just anywhere in general. As an additional bonus, all of the other animals on the Asia Trail were very active.
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Even when I went, the Small Mammal House was PACKED. I literally could not step in any direction without bumping into anyone, lol
 
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