Despite mayor’s efforts, giant pandas appear to be going to San Diego, not S.F.
Giant pandas are on the cusp of returning to a California zoo — but as of now, it’s not San Francisco.
The San Diego Zoo, which last hosted pandas in 2019, said Thursday that it is in the final stages of getting approved to bring a pair of the animals back to California. Pandas could arrive at the zoo by the end of the summer, zoo officials told the Associated Press.
The San Francisco Zoo had hoped to land the pandas, which are an immense draw. During last November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the city, Chinese President Xi Jinping sparked hope that the pandas could return to California and specifically referenced the San Diego Zoo.
“We are ready to continue our cooperation with the U.S. on panda conservation and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples,” he said.
Following the conference, Mayor London Breed sent a letter to Xi asking him to bring pandas to San Francisco, the San Francisco Standard reported. In her letter, Breed wrote that part of the San Francisco Zoo had been specifically constructed to include a panda reserve.
Despite the announcement that pandas would return to San Diego, Breed said this wasn’t the end for San Francisco’s dreams of becoming a panda host city.
“Our city is proud to have played a key role in facilitating conversations between our two nations during APEC last year,” she said in a statement. “San Francisco is grateful for President Xi’s considerations and will continue to advocate when the opportunity arises.”
Representatives for the San Francisco Zoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since the 1950s, China has been using pandas — native to its bamboo forests — as signs of diplomatic friendship. The U.S. got its first pandas in 1972, when a pair arrived in Washington, D.C. The San Diego Zoo was previously home to a pair of giant pandas from 1996 to 2019, when China recalled them.
The last time pandas called San Francisco home was 1985, when two pandas, Yun-Yun and Ying-Xin, were loaned to the zoo for just under three months. Their presence drew more than 260,000 visitors — about four times the zoo’s average attendance at the time.
In 1993, a San Francisco supervisor vying for mayor attempted to bring two pandas to the city, but was foiled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which suspended the processing of all panda applications amid debate over conservation of the species.
All panda programs are subject to permit approval by U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Zoos in Atlanta and Memphis have also been home to pandas on loan. Each institution typically pays $1 million annually to host a pair of pandas — money that goes back toward conservation efforts in China, according to a 2022 report by the Congressional Research Service.
Along with San Diego, the China Wildlife Conservation Association has agreed to send pandas to Madrid and is also in talks with zoos in Washington, D.C., (which had pandas until recently) and Vienna, the Associated Press reported.
“We are humbled by the potential opportunity of continuing our collaborative conservation efforts to secure the future for giant pandas,” Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo, said in a statement. “As such, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return. This includes sharing our detailed conservation plans with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure alignment for the greater benefit of giant pandas.”