Why is there no pandas in San Diego Zoo?

The panda loan agreement concluded in 2019, and giant pandas Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu were repatriated to China in spring 2019, in keeping with the terms of our agreement. All six of the pandas born at our zoo have returned to their homeland in China, where they continue to make us proud!



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The Zoo's status as an oasis for giant pandas finally came to an end in 2019, when it bid farewell to its last two giant pandas: Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu. This represented the end of the loan program, which had already been extended several times.

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An article about the economics of keeping pandas says it costs five times more to keep a panda than the next most expensive animal, an elephant. American zoos generally pay the Chinese government one-million dollars a year in fees as part of a typical ten-year contract.

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Red Pandas They are most active at dawn and dusk, but with a keen eye you might catch a glimpse of Lucas, Kola, or Adira and her cub sunbathing during the day. Enjoy watching our red pandas in their habitat at Asian Passage, at the San Diego Zoo.

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As a gesture of goodwill following President Nixon's seminal state visit, Premier Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the American people. Nestled in the Nation's Capital and with free admission, the President and Mrs. Nixon selected the Smithsonian's National Zoo as the home for the giant panda bears.

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The San Diego Zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the last bear at the Memphis, Tennessee, zoo went home earlier this year. The departure of the National Zoo's bears would mean that the only giant pandas left in America are at the Atlanta Zoo — and that loan agreement expires late next year.

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With diplomatic tensions running high between Beijing and a number of Western governments, China appears to be gradually pulling back its pandas from multiple Western zoos as their agreements expire.

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Video: Red panda escapes San Diego Zoo habitat by climbing tree. A red panda climbed a tree and escaped his San Diego Zoo habitat over the weekend but was captured hours later and returned to his home.

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Our elephant habitats spread out over six acres, divided into two main yards, and providing all the elephants with opportunities for social interaction and with inviting space. With eight African elephants, there's always something happening here!

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And for us at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, there are few other species that embody our commitment to saving wildlife more than these majestic bears, with the help of our innovative partners around the world. Standing up to 12 feet tall and weighing up to 1,600 pounds, polar bears have no natural predators.

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China began to offer pandas to other nations only on ten-year lease. The standard lease terms include a fee of up to US$1 million per year and a provision that any cubs born during the lease period be the property of the People's Republic of China.

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In 1984, China ended panda gifts, switching to a policy of high-priced loans. This history has made Mexico one of a few countries able to keep locally born panda cubs. Since 1985, the loan program has required that zoos return any cubs to China.

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The multidisciplinary scientific approach spearheaded by our Reproductive Sciences team has led to the birth and survival of six cubs at the San Diego Zoo and a dramatic turnaround in the breeding program at the Wolong Breeding Center, where panda numbers have increased from 25 to over 130 in 10 years.

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L ondon Zoo's three elephants, involved in the recent crushing to death of a keeper, are leaving the capital, ending a 170-year presence at the Regent's Park site.

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