The National Zoo’s three giant pandas are set to return to China in December. After their departure, the only pandas left in the U.S. will be returned in 2024.
Millions of Americans and people worldwide have enjoyed visiting and watching the giant pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in the nation’s capital for many years.
But a viral Instagram post from late September claims all of the pandas in U.S. zoos are set to be returned to China after decades of peaceful panda relations between the two countries. VERIFY reader Dallas asked if this is true.
THE QUESTION
Are all zoo pandas in the U.S. set to be returned to China?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, all zoo pandas in the U.S. are set to be returned to China by the end of 2024.
WHAT WE FOUND
All of the giant pandas in America’s zoos are being returned to China by the end of 2024. The Smithsonian National Zoo’s three giant pandas — Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — are set to return to China by early December once a decades-long exchange agreement between the United States and the Chinese government ends. After their departure, the only giant pandas left in the U.S. will be returned in 2024.
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