The year was 1972, the president Nixon. He’d made a historic trip to the People’s Republic of China, as he was the first U.S. President to do so. The mission: to stabilize diplomatic relations between the two countries. The result: success. The two countries were able to amicably communicate once more.
As a gesture of thanks and goodwill, Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the People’s Republic at the time, gifted two giant pandas to Nixon: Hsing-Hsing (a one-and-a-half-year-old male) and Ling-Ling (a two-and-a-half-year-old female). They arrived at their new home, the National Zoo, on this date in 1972.
Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling as Ambassadors
Even politicians, normally portrayed as dignified and stoic, can’t deny pandas are cute. That’s why China chose to present them as gifts to the leaders of other countries. They’re natural symbols of friendship and goodwill.
However, besides political goodwill, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling also served as environmental conservation ambassadors. Because people in the U.S. became enthralled with the bears, they wanted to know more about them. One thing they were startled to learn was how fast pandas might become extinct, thanks to dwindling habitats and low birth rates.
The Life and Times of Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling at the National Zoo
The pandas were mere tots when they first arrived at the zoo. They grew up together, with the public watching.
Eventually they arrived at the age of mating and relating. Their natural attempts failed. Who knows if they wanted to be parents, but zoo officials certainly wanted baby pandas.
Ling-Ling was “mated” (via artificial insemination) with Chia-Chia, the London Zoo’s giant panda (who was also a gift; China had given him to London’s Prime Minister). But this, too, failed.
In 1983, nature finally took its proper course and Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling mated successfully. However, the little panda cub only survived a few hours. As did cubs born in 1984, 1987, and 1989.
In 1992, Ling-Ling died of heart failure. In 1999, Hsing-Hsing followed. (But he was euthanatized because he was suffering from non-reversible kidney disease.)
Panda Facts
* Giant pandas are an endangered species.
* Only approximately 1,600 are believed to still live in the wild.
* Pandas are no longer given as gifts, they’re loaned out and rates don’t run cheap. Case in point: In 2000, the National Zoo received Tian-Tian and Mei Xiang on a 10 year loan at a cost of $18 million.