The San Diego Zoo has welcomed two new giant pandas, marking the first time the species has arrived in the United States in 21 years, zoo officials announced.
The pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, were sent by China as a gesture of goodwill, continuing a decadeslong partnership between the U.S. and the China Wildlife Conservation Association aimed at panda conservation.
The partnership has been instrumental in improving the species’ status from endangered to vulnerable, according to the San Diego Zoo.
The pandas’ arrival follows a discussion between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in November, where the possibility of sending new pandas to the U.S. was explored.
As previously reported by Deseret News, the move comes after China began reclaiming pandas previously loaned to Western countries as diplomatic relations soured.
Jinping described the pandas as “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”
Yun Chuan and Xin Bao were introduced to the public after completing a quarantine period to acclimate to their new surroundings.
“It’s a very exciting time for the zoo,” Megan Owen, head of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo, told CBS News. “No other species embodies that conservation mission as much as giant pandas.”
Per CBS News, Yun Chuan has a unique connection to the San Diego Zoo. His mother was born there in 2007, and his grandmother was one of the zoo’s first pandas, residing there for over 20 years.
Yun Chuan is identifiable by his slightly pointed nose, while Xin Bao has a round face and large, fluffy ears, according to the zoo’s website.
The arrival of these two pandas marks the first of more to come.
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has announced that two more pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will arrive by the end of 2024.