Tai Shan is the first surviving giant panda cub born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
Steven Monfort, right, the zoo's acting director, announces the upcoming departure of Tai Shan. At left are panda curator Lisa Stevens and Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
Tai Shan was born July 9, 2005. He was originally supposed to be sent to China when he turned 2, but under an agreement with the Chinese government, the zoo kept him for an additional two years.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
The focus of enormous media attention, Tai Shan has drawn millions of visitors to the zoo.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty once called Tai Shan Washington's most important citizen.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
Tai Shan has grown from a butter-stick-size infant to an almost 200-pound youth.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
Tai Shan's mother, Mei Xiang, and father, Tian Tian, are themselves supposed to return China next year. Zoo officials said discussions about the details of their departure will likely begin in the spring.
Gerald Martineau-The Washington Post
July 9, 2009: Giant panda Tai Shan goes after his cake, made of water, bamboo, shredded beets, and beet juice, during his birthday celebration at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Karen Bleier-AFP/Getty Images
July 9, 2009: Tai Shan watches an apple fall off the top of his cake.
Karen Bleier-AFP/Getty Images
July 9, 2009: Tai Shan grabs apple slices off his birthday cake.
Alex Wong-Getty Images
Nov. 7, 2008: Three-year-old giant panda Tai Shan snacks on bamboo in his Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Mehgan Murphy-Smithsonian Institution
July 9, 2008: Tai Shan, the first surviving panda cub born at the National Zoo in Washington, celebrates his third birthday with a special fruitcicle.
Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian National Zoo-Reuters
July 9, 2007: Elizabeth Fuller, 11, decorated her car with drawings of Tai Shan in honor of his 2nd birthday. Fuller traveled with two friends to D.C. from Phildelphia to celebrate Tai Shan's big day.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
July 9, 2007: Tai Shan hides in the bushes, scared of his large popsicle cake, after he knocked it over on himself.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
July 9, 2007: Tai Shan approaches his popsicle birthday cake.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
July 9, 2007: Panda supporters waited at the fence for hours before Tai Shan came out. Some of the fans flew from across the country to celebrate his birthday.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
July 9, 2007: Tai Shan claws at his birthday fruit popsicle.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
April 24, 2007: Brennan Smith, 2, and his sister Maeve, 4, look through a glass wall at Tai Shan. The Smithsonian and China's ambassador to the United States announced that Tai Shan will remain in Washington for two more years before returning to China.
Susan Biddle-The Washington Post
July 9, 2006: Overall merchandising sales at the zoo have gone up dramatically, from $1.7 million in the first half of 2005, before the cub was born, to $3.3 million in the first half of this year, according to the zoo. Tai Shan "products" account for about 23 percent of that total.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
Mar. 29, 2006: "He's just so adorable," gushed Sharon Hordesky, 54, a District resident and zoo volunteer who tries to see Tai Shan a couple of times a week. "He has my heart."
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
July 9, 2006: Tai Shan celebrates his first birthday by eating a frozen mix of fruit juice, yams, apples and carrots at the National Zoo. He was given a fruitsicle instead of a birthday cake.
Lauren Victoria Burke-AP
Jan. 4, 2006: Tai Shan, the National Zoo's most famous resident, plays in the giant panda exhibit. The nearly six-month-old cub weighed 27 pounds at his last exam on Jan. 3.
James A. Parcell-The Washington Post
Feb. 12, 2006: Tai Shan huddles close to his mother, Mei Xiang, to get warm amid several inches of snow that blanketed the Washington area.
Ann Batdorf-Smithsonian Institution
Feb. 12, 2006: Tai Shan, the National Zoo's 7-month-old giant panda cub, romps in the snow with his mother, Mei Xiang, on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006.
Ann Batdorf-Smithsonian Institution
Dec. 22, 2005: Under the close watch of his mom, Mei Xiang, giant panda cub Tai Shan ventures outside for the first time at the National Zoo.
Jessie Cohen-AFP/Getty Images
Dec. 8, 2005: Tai Shan lays on his stomach during his first viewing by the public.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Dec. 8, 2005: Lisa Stevens, left, the curator of the panda exhibit holds Tai Shan for the public to see. Menachem Eizenstat, 8, of Silver Spring climbed over the rail to get a closer look. His brother, Eliezer Eizenstat, 4, is on the right.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Dec. 8, 2005: The public waits in line to see Tai Shan during the first public viewing day at the National Zoo.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Sept. 19, 2005: Dr. Carlos Sanchez, left, a veterinarian at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, checks the paws of the zoo's giant panda cub while Stevens holds on to the 9.57-pound tyke, now 22.51 inches long.
Jessie Cohen-Smithsonian/National Zoo via Reuters
Oct. 21, 2005: Born on July 9, 2005, Tai Shan now weighs 14.1 pounds and is 27.1 inches long.
Jessie Cohen-Smithsonian Institution
Aug. 30, 2005: Veterinarian Suzan Murray, right, checks the panda cub's ears while Assistant Curator Lisa Stevens, center, secures him. The National Zoo's first pair of mating giant pandas, Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing, produced five cubs -- but none lived longer than a few days.
Jessie Cohen-Smithsonian Institution
Aug. 1, 2005: Zoo staff have been waiting until the mother left the cub regularly for several minutes at a time so they could close the door to the birthing area and examine the young panda, born July 9, 2005, without causing Mei Xiang undue stress.
Courtesy of Smithsonian's National Zoo-Reuters
Gallery Credits:
Producer Stephen Cook
Photo Editor Dyan Elovich, Stephen Cook
