Two at the Zoo

January 24 was an exciting day at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in Washington, D.C. That’s when visitors got a first look at Qing Bao and Bao Li. These are giant pandas. They arrived from China in October 2024. They went through quarantine. They had health checks. Then they were ready to delight the crowds.

Visitors watch Qing Bao play. The pandas were ready for the public on January 24.

Brandie Smith is the zoo’s director. “Bao Li and Qing Bao have already won the hearts of our staff,” she said in January. The pandas are winning the public over, too. People visit them at the zoo. And they can watch the animals on the Giant Panda Cam. It’s on the zoo’s website.

Meet the Bears

Qing Bao and Bao Li are a loan from China. China first sent pandas to the U.S. in 1972. Those pandas also went to the National Zoo. The loan is seen as an act of friendship.

Qing Bao eats bamboo in her enclosure at the National Zoo in January.

Qing Bao and Bao Li are 3 years old. Their personalities are different. Laurie Thompson works at the zoo. She told Washingtonian that Qing Bao is “cautious.” But Bao Li is “full of energy,” Thompson says. “Just kind of opposites.”