For the first time in 21 years, new pandas are arriving in the United States from China! On June 27, the San Diego Zoo in California welcomed Yun Chuan, a 5-year-old male, and Xin Bao, a 4-year-old female. Later this year, another pair of pandas will settle at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Pandas are native to mountain ranges in China. But loss of their forest habitat has left the species vulnerable, or threatened with extinction. To learn more about pandas, the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association sends the animals to zoos around the world. “Studying the animals in zoos helps us learn how to protect them in the wild,” says Trish Jarvis, a panda keeper at the National Zoo.