Giant panda Bao Li marked his fifth birthday at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Aug. 4 with a full aquatic-themed celebration, the second birthday he has spent in Washington since arriving from China.
Keepers built the party around a nickname of their own invention: a stripe of longer fur running down Bao Li's back that staff have taken to calling his "shark fin." According to the Zoo, the Department of Nutrition Science produced a frozen fruitsicle "cake" made from diluted apple and pineapple juice, decorated with sweet-potato "minnows," blueberry "bubbles," a carved carrot palm tree and crushed leafeater biscuits standing in for sand, all crowned with a gray fin.
Bao Li is the embodiment of joy. He is always in a lively, playful mood.
Mariel Lally, giant panda keeper, Smithsonian's National Zoo
That assessment came from giant panda keeper Mariel Lally, who has watched Bao Li since his arrival. For his present, keepers wrapped an oversized inflatable boat fender in a blue box printed with "Dive into 5" and "Have a JAWSome birthday," which Bao Li tore into and immediately began rolling around his habitat, as WTOP reported from the celebration.
Bao Li and fellow panda Qing Bao arrived at the National Zoo from China in October 2024 under a renewed conservation loan agreement, restarting Washington's decades-long tradition of hosting giant pandas after a previous pair returned to China in 2023. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China set up family activity stations at the party, including calligraphy, coloring and face painting, while fans unable to attend in person watched the festivities on the Zoo's live panda cam.
Giant pandas remain classified as vulnerable in the wild, with an estimated population of under 2,000 living mostly in mountainous bamboo forests in central China, making zoo-bred birthdays like Bao Li's part of a broader, closely tracked conservation and breeding partnership between the two countries. The National Zoo has not announced details of Bao Li's next public appearance beyond regular exhibit hours.
