Pandas en route to National Zoo after a year

Two new giant pandas are en route to the National Zoo, according to multiple reports.

CNN reported Monday that the pair of 3-year-old pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, had left a southwestern China giant panda research base late Monday local time. The giant bears were set to take a FedEx Boeing 777 cargo jet to Washington, D.C., hours later.

“We have prepared corn buns, bamboo shoots, carrots, water, and medicine to ensure the pandas’ needs are met during the flight,” a statement on the journey of the pandas from the China Wildlife Conservation Association said, according to CNN.

Washington-area TV station WUSA confirmed later Monday with the China Wildlife Conservation Association that by early Monday, the pandas were bound for D.C.

At the end of last year, the National Zoo’s three giant pandas left Washington, returning to China. They left upon the expiration of a previous agreement, but the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) announced in May that pandas from China would return later this year.

The panda exchange with China began under an agreement brokered by then-President Nixon in 1972, which led to several pandas being loaned to U.S. zoos for research purposes.

The Hill has reached out to the press office for the NZCBI.