Giant panda Bao Li turned 5 on Tuesday, marking his second birthday celebrated at Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo since arriving from China. Zoo staff threw the always lively, playful panda a shark-themed party, complete with a frozen cake topped with a gray shark fin and built from carved sweet potatoes, a carved carrot, crushed leafeater biscuits and blueberry bubbles. Crowds gathered at the panda house to watch him dig into the treat, according to the zoo.
As WTOP reported, Bao Li spent the celebration working his way through the frozen cake tiers while fans looked on. When he's overjoyed, he puts a forelimb in his mouth and shakes it around — a gesture the National Zoo described as "an embodiment of joy." Zoo staffer Mariel Lally has said that when giant pandas bite their own arms, it's the panda version of people laughing.
A Playful, Chatty Personality
Bao Li's antics aren't limited to birthdays. Keepers say he gravitates toward inflatable enrichment toys and is almost always in a lively, playful mood, the outlet's report noted.
That chattiness is also unusual for the species. Most giant pandas vocalize only during breeding season or when mothers are locating cubs, but keepers say Bao Li bleats and calls out to greet staff and visitors year-round, a trait The Washington Post has highlighted as a favorite among regular zoo-goers.
From Sichuan to the National Zoo
Bao Li was born August 4, 2021, at the Wolong Shenshuping Base in Sichuan, China, to parents Bao Bao and An An, according to Northern Virginia Magazine. That makes him the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the pair that anchored the National Zoo's panda house for more than two decades before their loan agreement expired.
Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and then-3-year-old Xiao Qi Ji flew back to Chengdu on November 8, 2023, leaving the National Zoo without pandas for nearly a year, according to The Hoya. Bao Li and his exhibit companion, Qing Bao, arrived from China in October 2024, ending that gap, and the pair made their official public debut on January 24, 2025, after a mandatory 30-day health quarantine that also relaunched the zoo's live Panda Cam, per WSB Radio.
A Diplomatic Deal Worth Millions
The current pandas' presence in Washington rests on a 10-year cooperative research agreement running through April 2034, under which the National Zoo pays $1 million annually to the China Wildlife Conservation Association to support wild panda habitat protection, according to The Guardian. All giant pandas at U.S. zoos, Bao Li included, remain the property of China under the deal. The arrangement extends a tradition of panda diplomacy that dates back to April 1972, when First Lady Pat Nixon welcomed Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing to the National Zoo following President Richard Nixon's trip to China, per WUOT.
Conservation Milestones Behind the Cuteness
The pandas' popularity dovetails with a broader conservation success story. In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature moved giant pandas from "endangered" to "vulnerable" on its Red List as China's wild population climbed to nearly 1,900 animals, a rebound credited in part to expanded bamboo reserves, according to the Global Cause Foundation.
Washington's summer heat poses its own challenge for animals built for the misty mountains of Sichuan. Keepers maintain the panda house's indoor habitats at about 65 degrees with air-conditioned grottos, since heavy fur coats make giant pandas prone to overheating, per Smithsonian Magazine.
Qing Bao's Birthday Is Next
Bao Li's exhibit mate, Qing Bao, was born September 12, 2021, at the Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan; her name translates to "green treasure," a nod to the lush mountain habitat wild pandas call home, per FOX 5 DC. She'll get her own celebration at the National Zoo on September 12, and the zoo is offering free passes to the event through its website.
The pandas' return has rippled beyond the zoo gates. Washington's transit agency last year issued special-edition panda SmarTrip cards featuring Bao Li and Qing Bao, distributed at stations near the zoo including Woodley Park and Cleveland Park.
