Photo by RoxandaBearMan, the Washington Post really knows how to twist the knife while the wound is still fresh. Just a day after we all learned that the National Zoo’s female adult panda, Mei Xiang, wasn’t pregnant after all, Postie Michael E. Ruane files a story reminding us that Tai Shan, our beloved stick o’ butter who’s now all grown up, will eventually be sent back to China. Oh, and that day could come sooner than you think. Thanks, man. You also had something to tell us about Santa Claus, right?
You’ll recall that Tai Shan’s original two-year stay was extended for two more years in 2007, but the end of that time is rapidly approaching. Making matters worse, the Zoo is also in the midst of negotiating over the ‘Stick’s parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who are both on a 10-year loan from China that began in 2000. Could we suddenly and abruptly be panda-less?
Probably not. There’s every indication that those commie bastards China’s panda preservationists are having enough trouble caring for the animals they already have in the wake of last year’s earthquake at the Wolong panda reserve, and might prefer to let all three D.C. pandas stay where they are. Still, the possibility of having to say goodbye to one or more of them in the next year makes yesterday’s pseudopregnancy news all the more depressing.
