Bye bye Bao Bao – Here's why the giant panda is moving back to China from US

Image credit: Smithsonian's National Zoo

New Delhi: Giant panda Bao Bao, who's nearing her fourth birthday, will be departing for China on February 21 from the Washington's Smithsonian's National Zoo.

Bao Bao, who was born on August 23, 2013 at the Washington zoo, will be welcomed aboard the FedEx Panda Express for safe travels to her new home - Chengdu - in China on February 21.

The move is part of an arrangement between China and the US, which requires giant pandas born in Washington must move back to China at around four years of age, Xinhua news agency reported.

One keeper and one veterinarian will accompany Bao Bao to Chengdu, where the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda is located.

Tai Shan, another giant panda born in the Washington zoo in 2005, was shipped in 2010.

Bao Bao will travel with a supply of her favourite treats, including bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes and water, zoo authorities said.

The Washington zoo now has three other giant pandas - an adult female Mei Xiang, 18, an adult male Tian Tian, 19, and a male cub Bei Bei, 1.

The giant panda, also known as panda bear or simply panda, remains to face severe threats from humans despite the animal being downgraded from 'Endangered" to "Vulnerable" on the global list of species at risk of extinction, following a 17% rise in their population over the past 10 years (2004 to 2014).

A nationwide census revealed that there are now 1,864 giant pandas in the wild in China, up from 1,596 in 2004.

While the World Wildlife Fund is working hard to address the threats faced by the distinctive black and white animal, it also announced that the giant panda is no longer considered an endangered species.

(With IANS inputs)