A team from the San Diego Zoo has met the pair of giant pandas that will be coming to Balboa Park as soon as this summer, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced Monday.
The exact date of Yun Chuan and Xin Bao’s arrival is not yet known, but officials are working through the necessary steps with U.S. and Chinese conservation partners, and look forward to a possible arrival this summer.
Yun Chuan is a nearly five-year-old male panda. He is described as mild-mannered, gentle and lovable. His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at San Diego Zoo in 2007 to parents Bai Yun and Gao Gao.
Xin Bao is a nearly four-year-old female giant panda who was born in Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base. She is described as a gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears. Her name means a “new treasure of prosperity and abundance.”
“It was an honor to see Yun Chuan and Xin Bao in person and meet our conservation partners caring for them at the Wolong and Bifengxia Panda Bases,” said Dr. Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Yun Chuan’s lineage has deep connections to the San Diego Zoo and we’re excited by the prospect of caring for them.”
Owen and other team members were in China meeting with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on prospective research programs to protect and conserve giant pandas and their habitat. They also met with giant panda care specialists to discuss and collaborate on specialized care and nutrition programs for pandas.
San Diego lost its pandas in 2019 after a 23-year loan from the China came to an end. But prior to a meeting with President Biden last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted the pandas could return, and this was confirmed in February.