Photo by RoxandaBearWe already knew the date for Butterstick’s going away party, but now it looks like we at last have the final date when he’ll permanently depart for dread Red China. The Associated Press is quoting Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough as saying Tai Shan will leave D.C.’s National Zoo on Feb. 4.
Wasting no time after finalizing plans to take our panda away from us for breeding purposes, the Chinese government appears to have gotten started with the matchmaking already: Tai will reportedly travel on a FedEx airplane alongside a 2-year-old female panda from Zoo Atlanta. Nothing like a 14-hour flight to get a little panda romance in the air, right?
Zookeepers have been working with Tai Shan for months now to get him used to entering and exiting a travel cage (pictured), and Zoo spokesperson Karin Korpowski-Gallo recently told DCist they’re confident he’ll be a laid-back traveler. In other words, odds are good we’re more freaked out about this trip than he is.
