Bye, Bao Bao, Mei Lun and Mei Huan! Pandas leaving U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The panda population in the United States is dropping by three.

Atlanta's zoo announced Thursday that its 3-year-old giant panda twins will leave the zoo Nov. 3. And the National Zoo in Washington said it will be saying bye-bye to panda cub Bao Bao in 2017. The zoo didn't give a date but said the cub will move to China within the first few months of the new year. Both zoos said it is better for pandas to travel in the winter months when it is cool.

A total of four U.S. zoos have pandas that are on loan from China. As part of the loan agreement, pandas born in the United States return to China, generally around age 4. All three pandas leaving for China are females and expected to eventually become part of a breeding program there.

When they leave, there will be a dozen pandas remaining in the United States: four in Atlanta, three in Washington, three in San Diego and two in Memphis.

Atlanta's departing panda twins, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, were born July 15, 2013, and were the first surviving panda twins born in the United States. The zoo's head veterinarian said that when the two were young, Mei Lun was a little bit of a complainer while Mei Huan was more "go with the flow," though those differences have smoothed out as they aged. They have since been joined by a second pair of twins born at Zoo Atlanta on Sept. 3.