Government shutdown: Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s farewell event for pandas could be cut short

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is honoring its three giant pandas who are returning to China by the end of this year, but in the wake of a potential federal government shutdown on Sunday morning, celebrations may be cut short.

The National Zoo is hosting “Panda Palooza,” a nine-day event spanning from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1 to bid farewell to the three famous giant pandas who will return to China by the end of this year.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: WHAT WILL BE OPEN AND WHAT WILL BE CLOSED

The government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday if Congress fails to pass a series of separate funding bills, affecting the final day of panda festivities. Around two-thirds of Smithsonian staff are federal employees, halting paychecks until Congress is up and running again.

However, if a shutdown occurs, Smithsonian institutions may stay open long enough to finish out “Panda Palooza.” All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed several days into the longest government shutdown, spanning from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019. Officials announced Smithsonian sites closed temporarily starting Jan. 2, 2019.

The giant pandas must be returned by Dec. 7. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian first came to Washington, D.C., in 2000 and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, was born in 2020.

In what was an exchange for $10 million under an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the pandas were expected to stay in the U.S. for 10 years but the agreement has been extended multiple times. Under the original agreement, any cubs born to Mei Xian and Tian Tian must be moved to China when they turn four years old. While the youngest giant panda will only be three years old upon departure, Zoo officials confirmed it’s in the cub’s best nature to move with his parents, when the announcement was initially made in 2020.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“It makes sense that [Xiao Qi Ji] would move to China when his parents go,” zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said in an email to WAMU/DCist in December 2020. “However, when it comes time for the NEXT agreement, we’ll have conversations about conservation, research breeding and will address what is in the best interest of Xiao Qi Ji.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for comment.