Washington Zoo Says Goodbye to Its Giant Pandas

How a looming government shutdown could hit national parks

National parks and nearby communities could forego millions of dollars per day during a partial government shutdown that could start this weekend.

How a looming government shutdown could hit national parks - Minnesota Reformer

Photo courtesy of National Parks Service. National parks and nearby communities could forego millions of dollars per day during a partial government shutdown that could start this weekend. Would-be visitors will likely see restrictions on park access, though the extent of those restrictions was still unclear just days before a potential lapse in federal appropriations set to begin Sunday. Parks would lack the regular funds used for daily operat…

Washington says goodbye to pandas amid bitter U.S.-China backdrop

No matter the distance or the weather, Jane Christensen was determined to see the giant pandas before they left Washington.Now in her 60s, Christensen told AFP she had been captured by the species' magical cuteness over a half-century ago, when China first gifted two pandas to the United States."I've had 'panda-monium' ever since,' she said under a chilly rain outside the Smithsonian National Zoo's panda exhibit – hundreds of miles from her home…

Sadness in Washington zoo as the US preps to return pandas to China

The pandas in Washington's National Zoo are set to be returned to China after long decades of friendly 'Panda Diplomacy' between the two nations. The visitors, conservationists and even experts who have been directly involved in the pandas' care are expressing their sadness. The three pandas - Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji - are set to be sent to China in early December. First pandas arrived in the US from China in 1972. It was C…

She has traveled hundreds of kilometers, faced the freezing rain but, for nothing in the world, Jane Christensen would not have missed the opportunity to see...

Washington says goodbye to pandas amid bitter US-China backdrop

WASHINGTON - No matter the distance or the weather, Jane Christensen was determined to see the giant pandas before they left Washington.