Don't be sad about Bei Bei's impending departure; he's heading to China on a private jet—in style!
The city of Washington, D.C., rejoiced when Bei Bei was born in 2015, and now it's time to say goodbye. FedEx has the private aircraft all ready with its giant panda decals, and fans are weighing in on what should go on his in-flight mixtape.
If you were a giant panda taking a 16-hour flight to China, what would you want on your playlist? As we say #ByeByeBeiBei with our @NationalZoo, we invite you to change "baby" to "Bei Bei" and share your picks with #BeiBeiMixTape. pic.twitter.com/2n5VuLiXBG
— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) November 15, 2019
Bei Bei is the third giant panda to be sent back to China as part of the exchange program with the National Zoo. It was designed to increase their global population, and it is certainly working. Once categorized as endangered, there are now approximately 1,800 giant pandas in the wild.
In a series of tweets (search for #byebyebeibei), the Smithsonian Institution is giving everyone a fond look back at Bei Bei's time in the city. Take a walk down memory lane and wish him bon voyage! They have photos from his naming day ...
🐼❤️Bei Bei was named on September 25, 2015 by former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama, and First Lady of the People’s Republic of China, Peng Liyuan. #PandaStory #ByeByeBeiBei pic.twitter.com/sJsreVCquc
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) November 17, 2019
... to his winter acrobatics.
Bei Bei always sticks the landing. #ByeByeBeiBei pic.twitter.com/gEFU641UGs
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) November 18, 2019
Zoo visitors gathered this weekend to make postcards for him, and to watch one last time as he enjoyed some of his favorite treats.
🐼🎂 Here’s a close up of Bei Bei’s ice cake! It featured some of his fav treats like sugar cane and sweet potato! #ByeByeBeiBei #PandaStory pic.twitter.com/MJYuLAoHEG
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) November 17, 2019
To read more about Bei Bei and the giant panda program, check out the National Zoo website post about his departure.
Were you able to see Bei Bei before he takes off for China? Tell us your favorite memories of him in the comments!
