San Diego pandas heading back to China

Garrett Sheetz has always seen pandas in picture books, but never in real life, so he was more than thrilled when his parents drove six hours from their San Jose house to the San Diego Zoo to see the chubby bears up close.

"I like best how I get to see them in real life," the 7-year-old told China Daily on Friday as he and his family sat outside a photo booth at the Panda Canyon in the zoo, waiting patiently for staff to print photos of them and the pandas.

But Garrett's first encounter with the cuddly creatures turned out to be bittersweet. For this spring, the zoo's two last remaining pandas, 27-year-old Baiyun and her 6-year-old son, Xiao Liwu, are heading back to their home country as the zoo's landmark conservation loan agreement with China comes to an end.

Decades ago, the zoo joined the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other accredited zoos and conservation organizations, as part of an international effort to prevent pandas from going extinct.

The collaboration resulted in Baiyun and her partner Shi Shi's arrival in a small jet in San Diego from Wolong Panda Preserve in China in 1996. Since then, the beloved bears, including Gao Gao, Baiyun's second mate, and Baiyun's cubs, have contributed significantly to scientists' study of panda biology and behavior.

Kathy Hawk, senior mammal keeper at the San Diego Zoo, who has been with the animals since they first arrived from China, said pandas historically have been among the world's most beloved animals, and people tend to identify with them.

"We have thousands and thousands of people coming to the zoo to see our pandas. Most important is the conservation message we try to send that people are very interested in and want to learn more about our pandas, and let's hope through that learning and the conservation messages that we send that they would like to know what they can do to help save the species," she said.

When the pandas first arrived at the zoo, the animals were on the verge of extinction, the zoo said. Decades of conservation efforts by the collaborative team of scientists have helped bring the wild panda population in China to nearly 2,000.

According to the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), the latest count in 2014 found that there were 1,864 pandas living in the wild. Although the number is still pretty low, it has been considered a great improvement, the organization said, because the animals numbered only around 1, 000 in the late 1970s.

The increased population and policies put in place by the Chinese government have resulted in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species to "downlist" the giant panda's status from "endangered" to "vulnerable".

Hawk said that by working together, American and Chinese researchers were able to learn more about the giant panda's biology and behavior. It's through that research and data collection that they collectively learn about and understand the pandas.

"What we've learned from them will help them in the wild," she said.

It's not clear at this point when pandas will live in the zoo again, but staff members said they are working with their Chinese colleagues to determine what's next for conservation and research.

"I'd like to think that we are just going to be on a hiatus for a while. But I don't think our work is just going to stop just because we don't have pandas at our institution. We will still continue our work in collaboration with our Chinese colleagues, and my hope for the future is, through our negotiation and the future research, we will be able to have pandas back here in our facility," said Hawk.

Her eyes welled up a little as she continued.

"Currently, our director and our executive team are in discussion with the Chinese right now, working out for a future research permit at this time," she added.

Panda lovers have until April 27 to view them at the zoo, but the beloved bears have become such an integral part of the community that many have traveled from all over the state for a last chance to see the black-and-white bamboo-eaters before they are repatriated to their ancestral homeland.

"I have heard on the news that the San Diego Zoo has lost the contract, and pandas were going back to China, so we definitely made it a point to make sure that we came and we stopped to see them. So that was one of the high points of making sure that we came here," said Garrett's mother, Luisa Silver Sheetz, who wanted to ensure that her children saw the pandas.

Erick Andino and Gem Riegg, both from San Diego, said the pandas reminded them of their children because they were one of their favorite attractions at the zoo when they were growing up.

"We haven't been to the zoo in years, and our kids are grown up, but when we found out that the pandas were leaving, we wanted to come see them for one more time," said Riegg.

The two said they first saw the pandas when they arrived in San Diego from China more than 20 years ago.

"They are part of the community for a long, long time, but it is good that they are going home," Andino said.

Courtney Cowen, a dance instructor who was at the zoo with her family on Friday, said it was sad to see the pandas leave, because her extended family always came to see the pandas whenever they visited her in San Diego.

"They are cute little bears, that is why I like them, because we know that they are endangered, so we like to come and support that," she said.

Baiyun — Chinese for white cloud — had one cub with Shi Shi and five cubs with Gao Gao. Baiyun and Gao Gao, who was sent back to China in 2018, are considered a "power couple" who have contributed significantly to the scientists' study of panda breeding behavior.

Pandas are the property of China, even those born on US soil. All six of Baiyun's cubs were born in the US. The other five have all returned to China.

People crowded around the panda enclosure and snapped photos of Xiao Liwu, who was curled up in a fuzzy ball, chomping on a bamboo stalk.

Not far from the panda's enclosure was a panda friendship wall put up by staff as part of the zoo's three-week farewell celebration of the pandas. People could purchase a $3 bell from the gift shop and/or choose a free tag to hang on the message wall.

Even though the wall was just erected on April 6, it was almost completely filled Monday with messages of well-wishes to Baiyun and Xiao Liwu.

Besides the San Diego Zoo, there are only three other places in the US where one can view the pandas: the National Zoo in Washington, Zoo Atlanta in Georgia and the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee.

In honor of the partnership and deep friendship between China and San Diego, the zoo held a ceremony on April 6, which was attended by Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping.

"I think it's a very successful program, and it helps the cause of giant panda conservation in China, and helps the population to grow. So this is very significant," Zhang said.

He said he hopes the pandas will come back in the future.

"The San Diego Zoo was honored to be chosen by conservationists in China to work with them to develop a new model for species conservation," said Douglas G. Myers, president of San Diego Zoo Global. "The panda program we began together demonstrates how powerful these collaborative efforts can be."