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VIDEO: Giant panda at the National Zoo gets a cake for her 4th birthday
Updated: 9:28 AM CDT Sep 13, 2025
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The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington invited the public to celebrate giant panda Qing Bao's fourth birthday on Friday. It's her first birthday at the park."It's been really fun to see her personality emerge,” said Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas, according to a zoo press release. "She was very reserved and cautious when she arrived, but now she is much more confident! She's also become more interested in interacting with keepers. She waits for both keepers to say goodnight to her before she will go inside for the evening."Qing Bao is one of two giant pandas who arrived at the National Zoo last October on a "FedEx Panda Express" flight. In 2023, three pandas were sent back to China after a previous agreement expired amid tense relations with the country. China owns every giant panda in the world. The two new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will live in the National Zoo as part of a 10-year agreement with China. The zoo pays a $1 million annual fee to the China Wildlife Conservation Association in support of research projects, funded by visitors, zoo members and private donors.To celebrate her big day, Qing Bao munched on a birthday cake made of fruit. The National Zoo said commissary keepers made the multi-tiered cake using frozen diluted beet, pineapple and apple juices mixed with water. They decorated the cake with some of Qing Bao's favorite treats, including apples, shredded carrots, sweet potato puree, blueberries, strawberries and peaches.After the feast, Qing Bao took a well-earned nap in a tree.
The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington invited the public to celebrate giant panda Qing Bao's fourth birthday on Friday.
It's her first birthday at the park.
"It's been really fun to see her personality emerge,” Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas, according to a zoo press release. "She was very reserved and cautious when she arrived, but now she is much more confident! She's also become more interested in interacting with keepers. She waits for both keepers to say goodnight to her before she will go inside for the evening."
Qing Bao is one of two giant pandas who arrived at the National Zoo last October on a "FedEx Panda Express" flight. In 2023, three pandas were sent back to China after a previous agreement expired amid tense relations with the country. China owns every giant panda in the world.
The two new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will live in the National Zoo as part of a 10-year agreement with China. The zoo pays a $1 million annual to the China Wildlife Conservation Association in support of research projects, funded by visitors, zoo members and private donors.
To celebrate her big day, Qing Bao munched on a birthday cake made of fruit. The National Zoo said commissary keepers made the multi-tiered cake using frozen diluted beet, pineapple and apple juices mixed with water.
They decorated the cake with some of Qing Bao's favorite treats, including apples, shredded carrots, sweet potato puree, blueberries, strawberries and peaches.
After the feast, Qing Bao took a well-earned nap in a tree.