Giant pandas are leaving U.S. zoos, but some are still close to Nashville
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One of the pandas at Zoo Atlanta. Photo: Alison Carmona Rau
One by one, pandas housed at zoos across the U.S. are returning to China as long-standing loan agreements come to an end.
Why it matters: By the end of the year, the only zoo in the country with pandas will be four and a half hours away at Zoo Atlanta, and their four bears are also headed back to China soon.
State of play: Zoos in Memphis and San Diego have already returned their pandas. In December, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., will say goodbye to its three, Axios' Shoshana Gordon and Erin Davis report.
Zoom out: Zoos pay China between $500,000 and $1 million annually per bear.
- Since its exhibit opened in 2000, Zoo Atlanta has contributed $10 million to giant panda conservation in China. According to the zoo, that makes giant pandas Zoo Atlanta's most significant long-term financial investment in wildlife conservation.
👋 Nate here: Because I married a person with a fanatic passion for random road trips and cute panda bears, my family ventured down Interstate 24 in August.
- As soon as we arrived at Zoo Atlanta — which has a large and convenient parking garage, by the way — we made a beeline for the panda exhibit.
- We are a family of zoo enthusiasts. We're members of the Nashville Zoo and enjoy visiting zoos whenever we travel. The line to see the pandas was by far the longest we ever experienced to see a zoo exhibit.
- We took two tours of the exhibit. The first time, the line was about 20 minutes. The second time, closer to when the zoo closed, there was no line at all.
Details: The pandas are somewhat persnickety. They don't like weather that is too hot or too cold, so they have a climate-controlled indoor area they can retreat to if temps aren't to their liking.
- On this hot August day, they were inside. Two of the zoo's four pandas were in the area visible to visitors, and they were very panda-y. That is to say, sweet, clompy and impossibly cute.
By the numbers: Google Photos says we took about 100 photos and selfies with the pandas.
The bottom line: See the pandas ASAP, as all four are expected to be returned to China in early 2024.
Also: We used the road trip to Atlanta to visit one of the city's James Beard-nominated restaurants: Indian street food spot Chai Pani, whose sister location in Asheville won the prestigious outstanding restaurant award in 2022.
- It was one of the best meals I've eaten in a while and very affordable ($85, including my post-zoo cocktail) for our family of four.
- Although we loved our trip to see the pandas and are likely to return, the visit also made me appreciate the Nashville Zoo, which has been adding really cool exhibits during its ongoing expansion.
Check out our recent Nashville zoo coverage: Komodo dragons, Andean bears.