Farewell, Tai Shan: Giant Panda Headed to China

Everybody knew he'd leave eventually, but now that the end is here, there's so much heartbreak. And more than a little panda-monium.

The National Zoo had to cut short the goodbyes to Tai Shan, the 4 ½-year-old giant panda who's about to hop a plane with his primary caretaker and head for China. The celebration of Tai Shan's birth and stay at the zoo ended early on Saturday due to a heavy snowfall and temperatures in the teens in the nation's capital.

Due to the weather, the zoo had to close at 1:00 p.m. About 150 fans traveled from several states to catch a glimpse of the giant panda, whom zoo personnel honored with a frozen three-tier cake containing apples, carrots, beets and bamboo, Fox News reported. The last day to see him is Wednesday. He'll then board a FedEx jet with a big panda logo on the side. His other traveling companion will be three-year-old Mei Lan, a panda from the Atlanta zoo.

According to the Washington Post, Tai Shan is the only giant panda cub born at the National Zoo to survive beyond infancy. He was born on July 9, 2005, has been a rock star of sorts since his birth and has grown to around 180 pounds. He even has a commemorative postage stamp.

The giant panda is no longer a cub. Always the property of China, he was supposed to return there when he was two years old. However, the zoo requested to keep him longer and received two extensions to his stay.

The extensions have run out, and Tai Shan is headed for Bifengxia Panda Base in the mountains of the south-central part of China. Once there, he will ender a breeding program.

The giant panda seemed unperturbed by the nasty weather as well as his celebration on Saturday. When members of the zoo staff brought in his cake, he knocked it over, causing a ripple of laughter through the crowd. While the snow continued to fall - some parts of the Washington metro area received up to 8 inches of it - he ambled around the panda compound, giving his fans a chance to say their private, sometimes tearful farewells.

Tai Shan's parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, are still residents of the zoo. They arrived in 2000 on what was supposed to be a 10-year lease, with the stipulation that any cub born to them would be the property of China. Although their stay officially ends in December, the zoo has requested that the Chinese extend it.

As for Tai Shan, his plane leaves for China on Thursday.

Sources:

Fox News site

Washington Post site