The pair of giant pandas that arrived at the San Diego Zoo from China earlier this summer will make their eagerly-awaited public debut on August 8, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced on Friday.
Yun Chuan and Xin Bao landed in California from China on June 27 for a 10-year international giant panda protection cooperation with the San Diego Zoo, marking a new round of U.S.-China panda exchanges. The two are the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years.
Yun Chuan is a nearly five-year-old male, identifiable by his long, pointy nose. His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007. Xin Bao is a nearly four-year-old female best recognized by her large, round face and big, fluffy ears.
Since their arrival in late June, the pair have been acclimating to their home in the newly re-imagined Panda Ridge, said the zoo.
The innovative space is four times larger than the San Diego Zoo's previous panda habitat and inspired by famous geological formations in China, emulating mountains, canyons and cliffs. It features new shade trees for climbing, a diverse array of plants, and rolling hillsides that allow Yun Chuan and Xin Bao to navigate and explore vertically, according to the zoo.
On Friday, the zoo also released the first video of the two pandas as they continue settling into their new home.
Marco Wendt, wildlife ambassador at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said the pandas' arrival represents and exciting avenue for cooperation between the two countries.
"It's been over 21 years since the United States has received giant pandas and for me, it's a wonderful example of collaboration. I've been here at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance for about 28 years. And I've learned one particular that, conservation begins with people. And this is a wonderful opportunity to unite the people of the world with such an amazing species," said Wendt.
The San Diego Zoo, one of the most visited zoos in the country, is the first U.S. zoo to have a cooperative conservation program with Chinese partners. Located north of downtown San Diego in Balboa Park, it is home to more than 12,000 rare and endangered animals representing over 680 species and subspecies.
The panda pair was selected from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP), which has conducted scientific research cooperation with the San Diego Zoo for over 25 years, with fruitful results in the protection, breeding and disease control of giant pandas, and public education.
Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species. Nearly 1,900 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi in China, rising from 1,100 in the 1980s.
Giant pandas to make public debut in San Diego on Thursday
