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Bittersweet farewell: US-born giant panda Bao Bao gets special send-off
Bao Bao headed on a one-way flight to China to join a panda breeding program.
Updated : Feb 22, 2017, 10:26 AM IST
 "Panda Bao Bao eats bamboo during a farewell event at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017")
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On Tuesday, three-year-old giant panda Bao Bao, headed for China from the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington (US) to join a panda breeding program.
American-born Bao Bao is getting the first class treatment on her trip, as she travels with a keeper and a veterinarian and has a special metal crate big enough for her to stretch out in. The 16 hour flight also includes some of her favourite foods like apples, sweet potatoes, bamboo and leafeater biscuits
Before her departure the zoo gave her a proper send off with a special cake:
Bao Bao's last ice created by our Dept. of Nutrition Sciences was inspired by a Chinese pagoda in honor of her new home #ByeByeBaoBao pic.twitter.com/7V1Ua0gei9
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) February 20, 2017
The zoo also posted on social media a fun memory of her enjoying a day in the snow:
Nobody does snow days like giant pandas. Here's a look at Bao Bao's first blizzard. #ByeByeBaoBao @FONZNationalZoo @smithsonian pic.twitter.com/BRfvAR2Lg9
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) February 20, 2017
And a tribute video of her time at the zoo and those that will miss her.
Bao Ba flew out from the Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, on a special FedEx plane bound for Chengdu, China.
“Today is bittersweet,” stated Dennis Kelly, the director of the Zoo in a press release. “We’ve watched Bao Bao grow up during the past three years, and she has charmed people all over the world with her independent and playful personality. We’re so proud of our team who have prepared Bao Bao for the next chapter of her life as she enters the breeding program in China. This is another milestone in our 45-year history of working to study, care for and help save the giant panda and its native habitat,” she said.
Fans were able watch her departure on the zoo's Facebook page:
The much loved panda was born at the zoo on August 23, 2013. She is the second surviving cub of her parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Former US First Lady Michelle Obama had sent a congratulatory message on the day she was born.
Her new home is the Dujiangyan Panda Bas which is run by the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda. Bao Bao's keeper Dearie will remain with her while she gets comfortable in her new surroundings. Once she reaches sexual maturity between the age of five and six years old, she will then enter the giant panda breeding program.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, giant pandas are listed as “vulnerable” as there are an estimated 1,800 only in the wild.
