They arrived from China by Federal Express at Dulles Airport. Since then, they had been in quarantine. They also received distemper and rabies shots. And they've been acclimating themselves to their new surroundings here in Washington, as well as to their new zookeepers. These two giant pandas come with an equally giant pricetag.
China says it is putting the money toward preservation of pandas in the wild in China.
Pandas are an endangered species. Right now, there are only about 1,200 left. So, this is a cooperative program with the Chinese to try to increase pandas numbers. The pandas eat 100 pounds together of bamboo a day. On top of that, they get carrots, apples, cooked sweet potatoes and a special biscuit that has vitamins in it.