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National Zoo returning beloved pandas to China on Wednesday after 23 years in U.S.
The Smithsonian National Zoo’s beloved giant pandas began their trek back to China on Nov. 8 after 23 years in the U.S. The pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, were on loan for a research and breeding program and in 2020 gave birth to a baby named Xiao Qi Ji, who is also heading to China.
Ahead of the pandas’ farewell to the zoo, the Smithsonian said in a news release that forklifts will be used to move each of them into FedEx trucks. The trucks will transport them to Dulles International Airport, but they will not be visible as they are moved onto the “FedEx Panda Express” – a Boeing 777F aircraft with a custom decal.
Their estimated departure from the airport is slated for 1 p.m.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to the zoo in 2000 as part of an agreement between the zoo and China Wildlife and Conservation Association and were supposed to stay for just 10 years, but the agreement was extended several times. The agreement was set to expire on Dec. 7, 2023.
The National Zoo first received pandas from China in 1972 in an effort to save the species by breeding them. The zoo has had panda couples ever since.
During her time in D.C., Mei Xiang has given birth to seven cubs – three who died before adulthood and three who have already been returned to China. Per the agreement, the baby pandas are returned by age 4.
KAREN BLEIER
After National Zoo pandas’ official departure, only four giant pandas that were part of the program will be left in the U.S.: Lun Lun and Yang Yang, the giant pandas at the Atlanta Zoo, and their offspring Ya Lun and Xi Lun. This panda family is expected to head back to China in 2024.
San Diego also had pandas as part of the agreement, receiving its first two pandas in 1987. They were supposed to stay just 100 days, but like the deal with D.C., the zoo’s agreement was extended several times and Bai Yun and Shi Shi stayed in the U.S. until 2019. They had six babies at the zoo.
The Memphis Zoo had a 20-year loan agreement with China that ended in 2023 with the return of Ya Ya in April, according to the Associated Press. One of their male pandas, Le Le, helped other pandas across the world conceive babies through artificial insemination, the zoo said. Le Le died in February ahead of the return to China.
Breeding programs have been successful for the once-endangered species. Pandas were upgraded to “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2017, according to the World Wildlife Fund. But only about 1,864 pandas remain in the wild, mostly in China’s Sichuan Province.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.
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