March 9, 2010
Tai Shan eats bamboo in his new digs at the Ya'an Bifeng Gorge Breeding Base in Sichuan province. Staff said Tai Shan was adjusting well to his new surroundings in his "motherland."
China Daily-Reuters
March 9, 2010
Tai Shan takes a walk outside. The 4-year-old panda had been confined in an enclosure off-limits to visitors since his arrival from the United States in February.
AP
March 9, 2010
Tai Shan has gotten used to the food and environment, officials said. "He is getting along very well with his keepers, too," said Tang Chunxiang, the center's deputy director. "He is having a very happy life."
China Daily-Reuters
March 9, 2010
Tai Shan has a 320-square-foot room attached to a large garden enclosure.
AP
Feb. 23, 2010
Tai Shan has a snack at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan province. About 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild, and 290 more are in captive-breeding programs worldwide, mainly in China.
Chen Xie-AP
Feb. 5
American-born giant panda Tai Shan arrives at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan province, China.
China Daily-Reuters
Feb. 4
Tai Shan is loaded aboard a Federal Express 777 freighter riding in a specially designed crate leaving Washington Dulles International Airport, outside Washington.
Paul J. Richards-AFP/Getty Images
Feb. 4
Tai Shan heads to China on the "FedEx Panda Express."
Mark Abramson-The Washington Post
Feb. 4
Trainer and primary keeper Nicole Meese feeds Tai Shan after he is loaded onto the cargo plane.
Susan Walsh-AP
Feb. 4
Primary keeper for Tai Shan, Nicole Meese sits while the giant panda is prepared for his move from the National Zoo to China on Feb. 4.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Nicole Meese, left, is comforted by Erika Bauer as the panda gets ready for his departure. Tai Shan is being transported in a crate made by the same Kentucky company that built the crates that brought his parents to Washington in 2000.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Mary Charlton, left, and Nicole Meese interact with Tai Shan as the panda is moved.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
From left, National Zoo veterinarian Nancy Boedeker along with Nicole Meese, Brandie Smith, Laurie Thompson and Mary Charlton watch Tai Shan as he is crated.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
National Zoo employees share a group hug, consoling each other as the giant panda gets ready to leave. Tai Shan was born at the zoo on July 9, 2005.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Zoo staff help wheel the crate carrying Tai Shan onto a tractor-trailer.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Tai Shan's crate weighs more than 1,300 pounds and took about 200 hours to make.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Tai Shan will not travel alone: He will be accompanied by giant panda Mei Lan, 3, of Atlanta, who will be on the plane in a second crate.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
From left, Erika Bauer, Brandie Smith and Colleen Clabbers bid farewell to Tai Shan.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Tai Shan peers from his crate. He is being taken, according to an agreement with China, to a breeding program in the mountainous interior of the country.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
Tai Shan is wheeled into a 28-foot FedEx delivery truck, which will take him to Dulles Airport. Unlike some animals that fly internationally, Tai Shan did not have to obtain a passport.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
At the airport, Tai Shan will board a Boeing 777 freighter dubbed "FedEx Panda Express."
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
From left, Mary Charlton, David Glendinning and Lauri Thompson prepare to put bamboo in the shipping truck to entice the giant panda during his journey.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 4
The plane carrying Tai Shan will cruise at 39,000 feet at 630 mph and will travel the 8,642 miles to China in about 14 hours.
Jahi Chikwendiu-Washington Post
Feb. 3
A crowd gathers to see Tai Shan on his last day at the National Zoo in Washington. The giant panda flies to China on Feb. 4.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 3
Panda fans write him farewell postcards. Many of these cards will be sent with Tai Shan on his journey to China.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 3
Tai Shan enjoys his last full day at the zoo. The 4-year-old panda will be sent to China on Thursday to become part of a breeding program.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 3
Despite a snow fall in Washington on Wednesday morning, a large crowd came through the Panda House at the Naional Zoo to pay a last visit to Tai Shan.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 3
A longtime follower of Tai Shan, Daniel Riedel watches the giant panda on his last day in Washington on Feb. 3.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 3
Roxanne Sykes shows a panda cookie that friends were sharing on Tai Shan's last day at the zoo.
Tracy A Woodward-Washington Post
Feb. 2
Tai Shan is pictured at the National Zoo in Washington. The giant panda will fly to China in a FedEx 777F shipping crate on Feb. 4.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Frances Nguyen, founder of Pandas Unlimited -- the Tai Shan fan club -- on one of her regular visits to the National Zoo.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Tai Shan inspects his surroundings and enjoys his last few days in the city.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Tai Shan relishes his bamboo snack at the National Zoo.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Nguyen, founder of Tai Shan's fan club, laughs as other fan club members embrace on the left.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
The National Zoo plans to send 50 pounds of bamboo along with other food, with Tai Shan to China.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Members of Pandas Unlimited -- the Tai Shan fan club -- and other zoo goers photograph and look at the bear.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
A treat! Tai Shan licks a honey coated crate.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Nguyen, founder of Pandas Unlimited, takes about a thousand photos of Tai Shan. Her finger is on the trigger anytime the bear is near.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Feb. 2
Tai Shan rests for a while at the National Zoo in Washington.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Jan. 30
Tai Shan takes a nap as the D.C. area is blanketed by a snowstorm. The National Zoo closed early Saturday, cutting short by two hours its farewell celebration for beloved panda Tai Shan, who is leaving for China on Thursday.
Marvin Joseph-The Washington Post
Jan. 30
Isabella Lopez, 8, of Hanover, Md., clutches her stuffed giant panda as she enters the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. 50 stuffed giant pandas were given away to children 12 and younger as part of the farewell celebration for giant panda Tai Shan who is scheduled to leave for China on Feb. 4.
Ann Heisenfelt-AP
Jan. 30
Tai Shan, a giant panda at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., reaches for the apple on his celebratory cake. The treat was part of the Zoo's farewell celebration for Tai Shan, who is scheduled to leave for China on Feb. 4.
Ann Heisenfelt-AP
Jan. 30
Linden Ferrell, left, takes a picture of two panda mascots as Catherine Wang, right, laughs, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Ann Heisenfelt-AP
Jan. 30
Tai Shan reaches for an apple on his farewell celebratory frozen cake. The 4-year-old panda will be sent to China on Thursday to become part of a breeding program. His last day for public viewing is Wednesday.
Ann Heisenfelt-AP
Jan. 30
Tai Shan takes a nap after his farewell party.
Marvin Joseph-The Washington Post
Giant panda Tai Shan roams his quarters at the National Zoo. The panda's time there is nearly at an end; on Feb. 4 he'll be flown to China, where he'll be given a new home in the mountains.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan eats bamboo at the National Zoo. At 184 pounds, he is no longer a cuddly cub. But his upcoming departure for China is breaking fans' hearts.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan is highly motivated by food, and the National Zoo plans to send 50 pounds of bamboo as well as pears, apples and cooked sweet potatoes with him on his trip to China.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan will fly nonstop from Dulles International Airport aboard a giant FedEx 777F air freighter that will have big black and white panda logos on the fuselage.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
A huge farewell party is planned Saturday for Tai Shan, the only giant panda born at the National Zoo to survive beyond infancy.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Visitors watch Tai Shan at the National Zoo. Many private goodbyes are expected this week before he goes to China.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Becky Malinsky waits for Mei Xiang, Tai Shan's mother, to pass by while she cleans the panda area at the National Zoo. Although Tai Shan was born at the zoo, he is the property of China by the terms of an agreement that brought his parents to the zoo a decade ago.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Longtime keeper Nicole Meese turns her back on Tai Shan in hopes of getting him to go into the panda yard at the National Zoo. She and zoo veterinarian Nancy Boedeker will accompany him on his voyage to China.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan's quarters on the plane will differ from those at the zoo. He will be kept in a transportation crate built by FedEx made of steel bars and clear plastic, measuring about eight feet long, four feet wide and five feet high.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Nicole Meese gives treats to Tai Shan before he gets a medical checkup at the National Zoo.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Nicole Meese, Tai Shan's keeper, and zoo veterinarian Nancy Boedeker will stay in China with him until Feb. 8.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Nicole Meese gives another treat to Tai Shan before his medical checkup. Once in China, Tai Shan will join a breeding program designed to help increase the giant panda population. The animals are native to China and are endangered.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Becky Malinsky feeds Tian Tian, Tai Shan's father, at the National Zoo.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Nicole Meese gives treats to Tai Shan as veterinary technicians perform a medical checkup at the National Zoo.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Veterinarian Nancy Boedeker gives Tai Shan a checkup as Nicole Meese provides him with treats. Once he reaches his new home, Ya'an Bifeng Gorge Breeding Base in China, he will be quarantined for a month as experts check for illness and behavior problems.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Nicole Meese gives treats to Tai Shan. In addition to her and the National Zoo vet, a vet from the Atlanta zoo and a FedEx load master will be aboard the flight to China.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan waits for his medical checkup at the National Zoo.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Becky Malinsky cleans the panda area at the National Zoo.
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Tai Shan has a bit of bamboo at the National Zoo. On his flight to China, he and Mei Lan, a female panda from the Atlanta zoo, will be in a heated, pressurized cargo compartment behind the passengers.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
One for the road? Tai Shan gnaws on bamboo at the National Zoo, which he will leave next month.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
Visitors gather to watch Tai Shan at the National Zoo.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
The aircraft that will carry Tai Shan to China is capable of holding 300 people, but it will be mostly empty, with pandas and people occupying only the front quarter.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
Tai Shan's flight to China will take more than 14 hours.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
When he goes to China, Tai Shan will ride aboard a plane that cruises at 39,000 feet and 630 mph.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
Tai Shan's 8,642-mile journey will take him over the Atlantic Ocean, across northern Europe and Russia and on to China.
Katherine Frey-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Producer Stephen Cook
Goodbye, Tai Shan
