New York zoos again left without pandas

Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from the House of Representatives in the US Congress, represents the 12th district of New York (Manhattan). For 15 years, Maloney has been trying to bring pandas from China to New York zoos, but so far has been unsuccessful. The city's zoos, rich in exotic animals, cannot boast of bamboo bears - and all because of the strict conditions under which China leases these rare animals, considering them a national treasure.

For the first time, a big panda became known in the West in 1869, thanks to the French missionary Armand David. Big pandas soon became favorites of the public due to their similarity with toy teddy bears. Also, the fact that pandas are practically vegetarians and feed mainly on bamboo has contributed to the innocent look of a living soft toy.

The first case of the transfer of pandas by China for diplomatic purposes occurred as early as the 7 century, during the rule of the Tang dynasty, when Empress W Zetian presented a pair of pandas to a Japanese monarch.

The transfer of large pandas to zoos in the USA and Japan was an important part of Chinese diplomacy in 1970, it was one of the first manifestations of cultural exchanges between China and the West. However, since the 1984 year, pandas have ceased to donate for diplomatic purposes. Instead, China offers pandas to other countries in the 10-year lease. Standard lease terms include a rental of one million US dollars per year and the provision of guarantees that all cubs born during the rental period are the property of the PRC.

Pandas are not cheap zoo guests. In addition to paying the Chinese authorities, maintaining them is also quite expensive. The bear eats 45 pounds of bamboo and vegetables a day, which costs much more to feed than many other animals.

In August 2014, Carolyn Maloney agreed with the Chinese authorities to rent two pandas - a male and a female. The Chinese, in addition to two million dollars, demanded two letters - from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio. The money was planned to be collected from non-state sources. But while Cuomo agreed to support the appearance of pandas in city zoos, de Blasio refused. Why is left behind the scenes. As a result, the deal with the Chinese authorities to lease the pandas never materialized.

When asked by the journalists why the mayor refused to bring pandas to New York, officials said that “the city administration has more urgent business than renting pandas for zoos”.

Today, only about two thousand pandas live in the wild. About 180 animals live in captivity. In the Washington Zoo, for example, you can see the female Mei Siang and the male Tian-Tian and their baby Bao-Bao. Among the visitors, their aviary is always popular.

The newspaper AM New York, in turn, expresses the opinion that today, when in New York there is a strong public discontent with the police, racial and social contradictions are exacerbated, the appearance of pandas at the zoo would have benefited the city, becoming the latest news, unfortunately a bit.