National Zoo's star panda headed to China next year
America is about to lose a giant bundle of cute cuddly charisma. Tai Shan, the panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on
July 9, 2005, is being sent to China in early 2010, zoo officials
announced Friday. Tai Shan's giant panda parents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang are on loan from
the Chinese government. Under an agreement between China and the zoo,
any offspring of the pair will be returned to China at some point after
the young panda turns 2 years old.