Washington Says Goodbye to Pandas Amid Bitter US-China Backdrop 

Mei Xiang, a female Giant Panda, investigates a birthday cake presented to her on his 25th birthday at the National Zoo in Washington, US, July 22, 2023.
Mei Xiang, a female Giant Panda, investigates a birthday cake presented to her on his 25th birthday at the National Zoo in Washington, US, July 22, 2023.
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Washington Says Goodbye to Pandas Amid Bitter US-China Backdrop 

Mei Xiang, a female Giant Panda, investigates a birthday cake presented to her on his 25th birthday at the National Zoo in Washington, US, July 22, 2023.
Mei Xiang, a female Giant Panda, investigates a birthday cake presented to her on his 25th birthday at the National Zoo in Washington, US, July 22, 2023.

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 in Michigan.

All three of the zoo's pandas are leaving for China by the end of the year, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the US capital.

The zoo has kicked off a week-long "Panda Palooza" event ahead of the departure, welcoming thousands of fans, many outfitted in panda-themed hats and shirts.

And while the pandas' departure had been expected due to contractual obligations, many can't help but see the shift as reflective of the growing strains between Beijing and Washington.

The first black-and-white furballs arrived from China in 1972, as a gift following then-president Richard Nixon's historic visit to the Communist-led nation.

Recognizing the species' uncanny ability to attract fans -- and a potential source of income for its conservation program -- China continued to loan out pandas to Washington and other zoos around the world, since dubbed "Panda Diplomacy."

At the Smithsonian zoo, millions of dollars have been spent on the pandas' enclosure and studies, especially related to breeding, including a popular 24-hour "Panda Cam" to monitor their behavior and health.

"We've been watching on the live cam every day leading up to this point," said Heidi Greco, who traveled hours by car from Ohio with her family.

Her daughter Stormy, who had on a panda hat and carried a just-bought panda umbrella, is "obsessed with pandas," Greco said.

The family had watched the pandas make some laps around their separate outdoor enclosures, then passed through an indoor viewing area where visitors can watch the animals eat snacks and bamboo up close.

"When I heard that these pandas were leaving, and the Atlanta Zoo pandas were leaving, and there would be no panda bears left in all of North America... (except) one very old one in Mexico, I was really, really upset," said Greco.

Zoo Atlanta, in the southern US state of Georgia, will send its four pandas to China by late 2024.

'Soft power'

Pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in Washington in 2000, and have since had four surviving cubs. Xiao Qi Ji ("Little Miracle" in English) was born in 2020 and will also depart by December.

During Xi Jinping's state visit in 2015, the last by a Chinese leader to the United States, his wife and the US first lady held an official ceremony to unveil the name of panda cub Bei Bei.

Eight years later, with mounting tensions over Taiwan and continuing trade disputes between the two powers, the panda exhibit is about to be closed.

The Chinese government tends to "bestow" pandas on "nations with whom China's relations are on the upswing, as a form of soft power projection," said Kurt Tong, a former high-ranking US diplomat and managing partner of the Asia Group consultancy.

"In that respect, given the current tenor of US-China relations it is not surprising that Chinese authorities are allowing panda contracts with US zoos to expire," Tong said in an email to AFP.

He noted that the loans also help China "augment the panda conservation budget."

The Smithsonian pays $500,000 annually to its Chinese conservation group partner, the zoo said.

The pandas' departure "closes a major chapter of an international animal care and conservation success story," the zoo said in a statement, adding that it "remains committed to continuing its efforts to secure and safeguard a healthy future for giant pandas."

One attendee saying her goodbyes at the zoo highlighted successful efforts to grow the wild population of pandas.

"We've come a long way in getting the numbers back up," said Michaela from Maryland, who had her face painted like a panda. The species remains listed as vulnerable.

As the rain let up, a steady stream of visitors began filling the area around the panda's outdoor enclosure.

Known for being a bit sluggish, the panda made repeated laps around the acre-sized plot, climbing up and down the hills -- making sure everyone got one good, final snapshot.



Disasters Loom over South Asia with Forecast of Hotter, Wetter Monsoon

The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
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Disasters Loom over South Asia with Forecast of Hotter, Wetter Monsoon

The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
The Himalayan mountain range of Annapurna and Mount Machapuchare (top, C) are pictured from Nepal's Pokhara on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)

Communities across Asia's Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to be up to two degrees Celsius hotter than average across the region, with forecasts for above-average rains, according to a monsoon outlook released by Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on Wednesday.

"Rising temperatures and more extreme rain raise the risk of water-induced disasters such as floods, landslides, and debris flows, and have longer-term impacts on glaciers, snow reserves, and permafrost," Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a senior adviser at ICIMOD, said in a statement.

The summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, is vital for agriculture and therefore for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and for food security in a region that is home to around two billion people.

However, it also brings destruction through landslides and floods every year. Melting glaciers add to the volume of water, while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.

"What we have seen over the years are also cascading disasters where, for example, heavy rainfall can lead to landslides, and landslides can actually block rivers. We need to be aware about such possibilities," Saswata Sanyal, manager of ICIMOD's Disaster Risk Reduction work, told AFP.

Last year's monsoon season brought devastating landslides and floods across South Asia and killed hundreds of people, including more than 300 in Nepal.

This year, Nepal has set up a monsoon response command post, led by its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

"We are coordinating to stay prepared and to share data and alerts up to the local level for early response. Our security forces are on standby for rescue efforts," said agency spokesman Ram Bahadur KC.

Weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June to September but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanization, is increasing their frequency and severity.

The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a "distress signal" of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.