Group Trying to Bring Pandas to Washington State

A group is trying to work out the details to bring a pair of pandas to live somewhere in Washington State. The Chinese President had encouraging words for the group in a letter stating they should “engage in preliminary technical exchanges” about transferring a pair of the critically endangered animals. The biggest challenge to find the pandas a home is the cost of housing them. Estimates run around 50 million dollars to house one panda for 10 years. They cost a minimum of one million per year to rent the animals from China, who invests all the money to panda conservation programs.

There is a long way to go to organize a home for the bears, but the group is committed to making it happen. If no zoo steps up then the group will raise money to create their own facility.