Three giant pandas bid adieu to National Zoo in DC. Why is Beijing taking all its pandas back?

Three giant pandas that used to live at the National Zoo in Washington DC have been returned to China after 23 years. Early Wednesday, the pandas were taken to the Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, where they were boarded on a special flight to Chengdu in China.

The director of National Zoo, Brandie Smith called it a “hard morning” as shestood outside an empty panda enclosure.

No pandas in the US: End of an era

Panda diplomacy, a term used in geopolitical circles, refers to the practice of sending giant pandas from China to other countries as a tool of diplomacy. China had given pandas to several countries as a gift from 1941 to 1984. After a change in policy in 1984, pandas were leased instead of given as gifts.

To the US, China gave its first panda in 1972, when Richard Nixon was the President of the States. It was given as a symbol of Nixon’s effort to resume diplomatic relations betweenthe two countries.

Since then, zoos across America have hosted giant pandas for years at a time. But that practice has come to an end now.

The three beloved giant pandas, namely, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi, left Washington DC on Wednesday for their new home in China.

Apart from the National Zoo, zoos in Memphis and San Diego have already returned their pandas to China. The only other pandas left in the country, at Atlanta’s zoo are also set to be returned later this month.

In 2024, for the first time in more than 50 years, there will be no pandas in the United States.

Why are they being returned to China?

The pandas are being returned to China over a failed contract to retain them further. Usually, the Smithsonian Institution renews its panda contracts in order to keep them. Smithsonian Institution operated the National Zoo in Washington DC. The official said that this year they weren’t able to retain the contract and all attempts failed.

Also, in April last year, a controversy was sparked about a panda called Ya Ya being ill-treated at the Memphis Zoo, which circulated like wildfire on Chinese social media. The zoo authority emphatically denied the allegations. But it was returned after the zoo’s loan agreement ended without renewal. Ya Ya spent 20 years at the Memphis Zoo.

(With inputs from agencies)