Tai Shan is leaving Washington for China
Giant Panda was born in D.C. in 2005
We knew this sad day was coming.
And now, apparently, it has.
The National Zoo has scheduled a press briefing for Friday morning, where officials seem likely to announce that Washington's beloved teenaged Giant Panda, Tai Shan, is leaving his place of birth and being sent to China.
The zoo said last Spring that "Tai" was probably going to China this year, as part of a prior loan agreement with the Chinese government.
Although he has felt like ours since his birth at the zoo on July 9, 2005, he has always been Chinese property.
And under the agreement, which brought his parents to the United States, he was to be sent to China when he turned 2. The zoo paid China $600,000 for his original stay.
In April of 2007, the zoo announced a new agreement with China, allowing Tai Shan to stay in Washington for free for two more years.
But those years passed quickly, and now it seems that Tai's time here is up. It's not yet clear how soon he might go.