2 More Years of Oohs and Aahs
Tai Shan's Stay Extended; Fingers Crossed for a Sibling

By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 25, 2007; Page B03

Inside the zoo enclosure, the plump little creature with the black ears, black eyes and awful posture slouched against the glass, shredding bamboo stalks with his teeth.

Outside the glass, officials from two nations, the mayor of the District of Columbia and a gaggle of other admirers were celebrating: Washington's most important citizen, as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) called him, would be allowed to stay and munch and slouch, and entertain, for two more years.

"What a wonderful day it is!" the National Zoo's director, John Berry, said yesterday morning after Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong formally announced in a ceremony that Tai Shan, the giant panda cub, could stay on at the zoo until 2009. "What a great day to celebrate!"

In the end, zoo officials said yesterday, negotiations with China to extend the stay were smooth and amicable. No money was involved in the deal, and Berry said the agreement was mostly the result of Chinese largesse.

"It is the wonderful generosity of the People's Republic of China that has extended his stay for us," Berry said. "And we are so grateful. It is a wonderful day for the zoo and for Washington, D.C."

Tai Shan, born at the zoo July 9, 2005, is China's property, as are his parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who are at the zoo under a 10-year, $10 million loan agreement. They arrived in December 2000 and are the focus of a research, conservation and breeding program. The giant panda is native to China.

Under the loan agreement, any cub born to Mei Xiang at the zoo would be sent to a preserve in China for breeding purposes sometime after the cub's second birthday. The zoo is paying China $600,000 for the cub's initial two-year stay, a zoo official said.

The zoo, hoping that the cub would not be needed for breeding for a few more years, had been negotiating with China for several months to let Tai Shan stay longer. The affable Berry paid a visit to China in December "to discuss future collaborations," he said in a recent zoo newsletter.

Pandas are endangered. There are only about 1,600 in the wild and slightly more than 200 in captivity.

Tai Shan has drawn an estimated 2.25 million visitors since his public debut Dec. 8, 2005, zoo officials said, and tens of millions more have viewed him on the zoo's panda cam. He has been on the cover of magazines, the subject of a documentary and the inspiration for various zoo merchandise.

As the officials of China, the city and the zoo hailed the extension yesterday, Berry noted that China had also allowed the zoo, for the first time, to transport semen from Gao Gao, a giant panda in the San Diego Zoo, for an artificial insemination procedure on Tai Shan's mother this month.

Berry said U.S. and Chinese scientists are trying to broaden the giant panda gene pool by mating pandas from different zoos.

"Our female, Mei Xiang, with San Diego's male, our scientists determined, was one of the best matchings in the whole world," Berry said. "And so for the Chinese to allow that to occur was a significant step forward in terms of managing the population for its genetic health."

Berry said it won't be known for several weeks whether the procedure worked, and then, if successful, "60 to 90 days later, we would have a cub." If Mei Xiang does indeed have a second cub this summer, it would be an extraordinary success for the zoo; Tai Shan was its first surviving cub after decades of efforts. Tai Shan was also the result of artificial insemination.

But there are many "ifs in that equation," Berry said. "We think we got it, but this is now up to mom and Mother Nature."

Meanwhile, zoogoers expressed joy yesterday at Tai Shan's extended visit.

"I think it's great that we get to keep him for another two years. I wish we could keep him permanently," panda devotee Sandy Fuller of Wheaton said at the zoo after the announcement.

"I've watched him since the day he was born," she said. "I adore this little guy. So keeping him longer is just great. I think he's great for the area. I think he's great for the zoo."

As for Tai Shan, he emerged on cue right after the formalities, waddled to a giant popsicle zookeepers had made for him, and then sat down against the enclosure glass to gnaw on bamboo.

Zhou said Tai Shan looked happy. Outside the glass yesterday, all the humans did, too.