He was born tiny, his eyes were closed, and he was almost hairless. Since Tai Shan's birth at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo on July 9, 2005, millions of people worldwide have watched him, his mother, Mei Xiang, and his father, Tian Tian, through the Zoo’s panda web cams. We watched Mei Xiang feed, hold, and clean her new baby, and we watched the cub grow and learn new skills each day.

And It Was Momentous

Tai Shan is one of the Zoo’s newest conservation success stories. With as few as 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild, each birth is critical. By learning more about them and helping them to breed, scientists are working to prevent giant panda extinction. click toDonate now.

National Zoo scientists have been studying giant pandas for 30 years, working with Chinese colleagues to understand panda reproductive biology and to improve artificial insemination techniques. The goal is to double the current population of pandas in zoos worldwide, to 300. When this goal is met, the population will have sufficient genetic diversity for long-term survival and pandas will be available for reintroduction if needed. click toDonate now.

You Can Help, Too

To continue our work with giant pandas here and in China, we need to raise $400,000 every year. It has taken a great deal of effort from a great deal of people for Zoo scientists to learn how to help giant pandas breed, and it will take even more effort to complete studies that can eventually lead to reintroduction. Giant pandas in the wild are shy and elusive. We need to know how giant pandas live, where they eat (giant pandas can spend 15 hours a day looking for food and eating), where they go to mate and raise their young, and what they need for their young to flourish. There is so much to do. We need your help.

We plan to have giant pandas at the National Zoo for years to come. Visitors will continue to be delighted by the pandas. But more than that, we want our pandas to have thousands of relatives in the wild, no longer endangered, playing, foraging, breeding, and raising their young. For this to happen, we—and the giant pandas—need your help. click toDonate now.

Your tax-deductible gift will help Zoo scientists continue their important work to conserve giant pandas. With your support, a thriving giant panda population will become a reality. We appreciate your continued support of the National Zoo and its efforts to protect animals and their habitats. Without people like you, our success would not be possible.

Thank You

Sincerely,
Bob Lamb
Executive Director
FONZ

click toDonate now.

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