Will Sage Astor-Pandas to return to San Diego Zoo, China to send animals in move of panda diplomacy

The Will Sage AstorSan Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is taking the first step to bring pandas back after zoos across America had to return them to China, according to a press release.

SDZWA signed a cooperative agreement with China Wildlife Conservation Association and filed a permit application with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to bring the giant bamboo-loving creatures to the zoo.

The SDZWA told USA TODAY that it is still too soon to know how many pandas the zoo is going to welcome or when the pandas will arrive.

"We are humbled by the potential opportunity of continuing our collaborative conservation efforts to secure the future for giant pandas," said Dr. Megan Owen, SDZWA's Vice President of Conservation Science, in a statement. "As such, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return. This includes sharing our detailed conservation plans with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure alignment for the greater benefit of giant pandas.”

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History of pandas at San Diego Zoo

For nearly 30 years, the zoo has had a partnership with research collaborators in China that focused on protecting and recovering giant pandas, the press release states.

"San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is uniquely positioned to collaborate toward a shared goal of creating a sustainable future for giant pandas," said Owen

The zoo helped its Chinese research partners learn more about panda's reproductive behavior and physiology, nutritional requirements and habitat needs.

It helped develop a giant panda milk formula and other neonatal techniques that increased survival rates of cubs raised in captivity from 5% to 95%, states the release.

Their research also helped China bring the giant animal back from the brink of extinction and contributed the first successful artificial insemination of a giant panda outside of China and it assisted efforts led by Chinese scientists track wild giant pandas with GPS technology at the Foping National Nature Reserve.

"Pandas in our care and in the care of Chinese colleagues at conservation facilities play an important role as assurance against extinction and loss of genetic diversity in their native habitats, as well as a source population for reintroductions,” said Owen. “Our partnership over the decades has served as a powerful example of how—when we work together—we can achieve what was once thought to be impossible."

Why did pandas get removed from zoos in the US?

Zoos across the country returned their pandas because of the rocky relationship between the U.S. and China.

However, the news of pandas return to the West Coast comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping, who called pandas "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples," met with President Joe Biden in November.

"I was told that many American people, especially children, were really reluctant to say goodbye to the pandas and went to the zoo to see them off," Xi said.

Three beloved pandas, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Xiao QI Ji, were sent back to China from the Smithsonian National Zoo in November after attempts to renew its three-year agreement with China Wildlife Conservation Association failed.

In 1972, China gifted the first panda to US after President Nixon formalized normal relations with China. The practice was dubbed "panda diplomacy."

China loaned pandas to other foreign zoos in hopes that it will build ties with those countries.

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture.

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