National Zoo celebrates 40 years of giant pandas

Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling play together. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
8931-33 Ling-Ling munches on her snack on her first day in the new Panda House at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., April 16, 1972. (Courtesy of the Nixon Library)
Mei Xiang (left) and Tian Tian, arrived at the National Zoo on December 6, 2000. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
Tian Tian is the Zoo's male adult panda. His name means "more and more." He was born at the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong on August 27, 1997. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
This photo of Mei was taken on June 9, 2005, exactly one month before she gave birth to her first cub, Tai Shan. (Courtesy Smithsonian National Zoo)
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WASHINGTON – Forty years ago today, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s first giant pandas arrived in the U.S.

Hsing-Hsing, the male, and Ling-Ling, the female, were gifts from China after President Nixon visited the country, according to zoo officials.

The two pandas arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at 5 a.m., April 16, 1972. They were officially presented to the zoo four days later.

The first giant panda to set foot in the U.S. was Su-Lin, a three-pound giant panda cub who was brought to the U.S. by a New York fashion designer. Su-Lin was given to Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, starting a trend of giant pandas in zoos across America.

Ling-Ling lived at the National Zoo until she died in 1992. At the time of her death, she was the oldest giant panda living in a zoo outside China. Hsing-Hsing died in 1999.

The arrival of Tian Tian and Mei Xiang in December 2000 marked the beginning of a 10-year research plan focused on improving the survival rate of giant pandas in zoos and maintaining their numbers in the wild.

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