The Panda Express has landed!
Bao Bao, the National Zoo's panda cub, arrived in China Wednesday evening.
A live stream posted by New China TV showed crews unloading the 3-year-old American-born panda from the plane.
Bao Bao was the only panda on the FedEx Panda Express. A keeper and a veterinarian accompanied her on the 16-hour flight.
The panda's keeper, Marty Dearie, said in an interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency at the airport in Chengdu that the flight went well.
"She ate and slept the whole flight and we have no concerns, none at all,'' he said.
Bao Bao, whose name means "precious'' or "treasure,'' will first go through a monthlong quarantine at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in Chengdu, Xinhua reported.
A 100-square meter (1,100-square foot) enclosure has been prepared for the panda cub at the base. The enclosure includes a lounge and a playground, the report said.
Keepers will work on helping Bao Bao adapt to local bamboo and Chinese bread, Xinhua said. In time, when she reaches sexual maturity, between 5 and 6 years old, she'll become part of a panda breeding program.
Bao Bao delighted the zoo and panda fans when she was born Aug. 23, 2013. Her mother, Mei Xiang, gave birth to her first cub, Tai Shan, in 2005, but then failed to get pregnant for years. Then, a cub born in 2012 didn't survive.
With Bao Bao's departure, the National Zoo will have three remaining pandas. The zoo's two adult pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived on loan in 2000 but belong to China, as do any cubs they have. The pair's first cub, Tai Shan, returned to China in 2010. Their third cub, Bao Bao's younger brother, Bei Bei, was born in 2015 and will remain at the zoo for now.
A total of four U.S. zoos have pandas that are on loan from China. Pandas born in the United States return to China, generally by age 4. With Bao Bao's departure, there will be a dozen pandas remaining in the United States: four in Atlanta, three in Washington, three in San Diego and two in Memphis, Tennessee.
