Giant panda Bao Bao at the Smithsonian's National Zoo enjoys her special treat at a dumpling party on Thursday morning. (Photo by Chen Weihua/China Daily)
Bao Bao, the giant panda at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, did not disappoint at her Chinese dumpling farewell party on a frigid Thursday morning.
As a crowd gathered outside her yard, Bao Bao, who will return to China on Tuesday, wandered about, munching on bamboo and then napping on a tree trunk, leaving many to wonder how long the rest would be and when she would come and open a special food box with a jiaozi (Chinese dumpling) drawing outside. It was put in the yard earlier by her keeper.
To the delight of partygoers outside her yard, the siesta lasted about 10 minutes. But before strolling toward the food box, she climbed a tree, sitting near the top, looking around and relaxing before coming down to get her special treat 12 minutes later.
Bao Bao has been in the spotlight since the zoo announced her departure last October.
The dumpling party, with food provided by the Chinese embassy, was one of a series of celebratory events leading to her departure.
Helen Gonzales, who lives not far from the zoo, said she visits the giant pandas on most weekends since 2006, when Tai Shan, the first surviving panda born at the zoo, was only 9 or 10 months old. Tai Shan returned to China in 2010 to join the breeding program.
"It's sad. I know I would cry," she said of Bao Bao's upcoming departure. But Gonzales said she knew there is a good and important reason for them to go back.
"But I'm still going to miss Bao Bao, amazing panda," she told China Daily.
