Zoo Atlanta in talks to bring back giant pandas
Driving the news: Zoo officials announced Wednesday that they were "engaging in dialogue" with China and would begin preliminary design work on a giant panda complex to prepare for the big ole goofy creatures' future — but yet to be determined — return.
Catch up quick: The zoo's loan agreement with China ended in October 2024, and not long after, the pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang and their two youngest kiddos Ya Lun and Xi Lun returned home.
"All now reside at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, as do Lun Lun's and Yang Yang's five previous offspring," the zoo said in a statement.
Zoom out: Like Atlanta, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., returned its pandas to China last year per terms of the zoo's loan agreement with the Chinese government.
A return was uncertain at the time, but China sent two new pandas over, and they debuted at the zoo last month.
Caveat: Zoo officials say they don't have a formal agreement, meaning no current timeline.
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