BEIJING (AP) — San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the panda loan in Beijing on Friday, alongside officials from China Wildlife Conservation Association, or CWCA. It will be San Francisco’s first time hosting the beloved animals long-term — the result of a yearlong advocacy campaign, Breed said.
San Diego previously announced it was receiving two pandas back in February.
China is home to the only natural habitat for pandas and owns most of the black-and-white bears in the world. Beijing loans the animals to other countries as a tool for diplomacy and wildlife conservation.
“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled to be welcoming giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo,” Breed said after signing a letter of intent for international cooperation on giant panda conservation.
Saints enter the NFL draft with questions along the offensive line
Farmers Embrace Apple Harvest in Southwest China
Tibet's Rural Residents Enjoy Improved Livelihood over Past Decade
Free agency left the Ravens with holes to fill as NFL draft nears, especially on the offensive line
Internet Development Sweetens Apple Business on Loess Plateau
Ethnic Minority Group in China's Heilongjiang Welcomes Upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year
Laborers and street vendors in Mali find no respite as deadly heat wave surges through West Africa
Output of Tibet's Culture Industry Grows Fourfold over Decade
Ilhan Omar's activist daughter Isra Hirsi is suspended from Barnard College over anti
Chinese Prosecutors Protect Senior Citizens from Fraud