Xinhua/Yin Bogu via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The beloved giant panda Bao Bao departs Washington, D.C., Tuesday for her new home in China.
Bao Bao departed the National Zoo on a FedEx truck Tuesday morning. She then begins her long trek to Chengdu, China, at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. From there, she will take a 16-hour nonstop flight on a personalized FedEx plane, accompanied by one of her keepers, Marty Dearie, and a veterinarian. Also on board: nearly 60 pounds of bamboo and other treats and a box of letters from well-wishers.
Before her trip, the 3-and-a-half-year-old panda enjoyed a hearty breakfast.
Thousands of well-wishers headed to the Smithsonian National Zoo on ahead of her trip to say “Bye-bye, Bao Bao.”
“Everyone here at the zoo, the millions of people at the zoo and the millions more on the webcams around the world are all going to miss her tremendously,” Brandie Smith, associate director of Animal Care Sciences, told ABC News.
Bao Bao is leaving the U.S. for China as part of a cooperative breeding program between the National Zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA). All giant pandas born at the National Zoo must be sent to live in China before the age of 4, the program mandates.
In the days leading up to Bao Bao’s departure, the zoo has hosted a number of activities and educational livestreams, including a dumpling ceremony and an ice cake party.
Crowds lined up at the panda house, some waiting more than an hour, to wish the bear bon voyage.
“I have been watching this bear since she was born and it’s actually the first adult animal I have seen from birth until adulthood,” visitor Heather Heckel told ABC News. “So, I’ve just kind of loved her all of her life and I wanted to say goodbye.”
Bao Bao was born at the National Zoo on Aug. 23, 2013, to parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.
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