Giant Panda Bao Bao Says Goodbye to the U.S

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– The National Zoo said Wednesday, Bao Bao, the zoo’s giant female panda, is preparing for her departure to China.

Bao Bao was born at the zoo on Aug. 23, 2014, and the first cub to survive birth since 2005 at the time.

“As part of the Zoo’s cooperative long-term breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, all cubs born at the Zoo move to China by the time they turn 4 years old,” the zoo said in a statement.

China owns all giant pandas in U.S. zoos and requires that cubs born here be sent “home” about the time they reach breeding age.

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