Giant panda Bao Bao is saying farewell to America as she leaves the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China in 2017. There are four pandas in America that are on loan from China, and agreements between countries state that they must return to their homeland once they reach the age of four; Bao Bao turns four on August 23, 2017.

Many Americans have grown to love Bao Bao as they watched her grow up through a “panda cam” that the Smithsonian Zoo had set up in her enclosure. People can watch videos of her playing with other cubs, frolicking in the snow, and even painting masterpieces. Brandie Smith, associate director of animal care sciences, will miss Bao Bao and says she is “very special to us at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. She was the first surviving cub born at the zoo since 2005. She’s captured the hearts of people all over the world who watched her grow up on the panda cams, and she has been an ambassador for conservation. We are sad to see her go, but excited for the contributions she is going to continue to make to the global giant panda population.”

The Zoo will shortly announce special opportunities for the public to say goodbye and celebrate Bao Bao before she departs for China. There is also a large party planned to honor Bao Bao’s departure from the zoo and the joy that she has brought several individuals.

She is expected to leave during the early months of 2017 in the winter; it is better for pandas to travel in cool weather because they prefer the cold. The keepers are already preparing Bao Bao for the long journey by acclimating her to a travel crate. The crate will be placed in the habitat and she will walk through it every day until Bao Bao can stay in the crate for short periods of time while being fed treats. Once a date is set for departure, FedEx will fly Bao Bao and a team of panda experts to China where she will be located at a base run by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. The American team will stay with Bao Bao until she is familiar with her new home. When Bao Bao reaches age 6, she will be put in a giant panda breeding program in an attempt to reintroduce giant pandas into the wild.

Bao Bao was born August 23, 2013, at the Zoo’s panda habitat and she has been living separately from her mother since March 2015. Americans were given the chance to vote 0n the name of the panda, and Bao Bao, meaning treasure, got the highest number of votes. Bao Bao’s parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, are on loan from China. Her brother, Tai Shan, has already made the journey to China and another panda, Bei Bei, will take over the enclosure at the Zoo and remain in America for several more years.

Giant pandas are listed as “vulnerable” in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are an estimated 1,800 pandas in the world, but scientists are working hard to increase the panda population in the wild. Keepers and scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute travel to China each year as part of collaborative conservation research and breeding efforts. Although there is an increase from the previous giant panda census, it is still not very many. The population remains vulnerable to threats from disease, climate change, and habitat loss. Bao Bao will be integrated into the breeding program and hopefully increase the total population of pandas in the world.

Bao Bao, just under 1-year-old. Photo via Smithsonian National Zoo.