California Panda Day was celebrated Thursday to recognize cooperation and species conservation, Governor Newsom announced this week.
“The giant panda conservation story is an inspiring example of strong partnerships and innovative strategies to protect the world’s natural heritage,” Newsom said in the proclamation.
On this “California Panda Day,” the public introduction of two giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo marked an important milestone in relations between California and China.
“I traveled to China last year to advance priority issues such as climate action and economic development,” Newsom said in a statement. “We hope the newly arrived panda ‘ambassadors of friendship’ will lead to further exchanges and cooperation.”
Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, the first giant pandas to arrive in the United States in 21 years, made their first public appearance at noon Thursday in the zoo’s new Panda Ridge exhibit.
“Xin Bao and Yun Chuan have been showing off their different personalities, eating bamboo and exploring their new habitats,” the zoo said in a social media post shortly after Panda Ridge’s official opening.
It was also pointed out that one of the pandas has a unique past: five-year-old Yun Chuan is the son of Zhen Zhen, a female panda born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007.
To admire this iconic species in person, the zoo recommends that visitors “scan the ticket QR code on signs posted throughout the zoo, select an available time, and proceed to the timed ticket queue at Panda Ridge at the designated time.”
