The end of an era: National Zoo's panda program concludes as China shifts focus

The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, is bidding farewell to its giant pandas as China's panda program at the zoo comes to an end after more than 50 years. The departure of the pandas marks the conclusion of a popular panda program that began as part of "panda diplomacy" in 1972. The National Zoo's pandas will be returning to China, leaving Zoo Atlanta as the only other US zoo with pandas from China, but their contracts expire next year with no word on an extension. The dwindling panda program in the United States may indicate a diplomatic shift, as China's loan program for pandas is meant to foster friendship between China and the host country.