ATLANTA — There is still only one place you can see pandas in the United States, and it’s right here in Atlanta.
The end of 2023 marked the expiration of a loan agreement between the United States and China regarding relocating pandas to zoos in the U.S. On Nov. 8, pandas at the Smithsonian Museum began their journey back to China, making Zoo Atlanta the only place you can see the animals stateside for the time being.
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Soon, the San Diego Zoo will get two new pandas as part of this agreement, according to the Associated Press.
In 1972, China gifted two pandas to the United States as a symbol of warming relations between the two countries.
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According to TIME, as panda numbers decreased, China began instituting loan agreements with zoos in the U.S., expecting that the animals be returned to China so that they could have an opportunity to be a part of the breeding population.
It is unclear how long the pandas will remain at Zoo Atlanta.
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