As America prepares to see its first giant pandas in years at the San Diego Zoo, the city of San Diego is alerting residents and visitors Wednesday of the potential for increased traffic around Balboa Park.
On Thursday, the San Diego Zoo will open the Panda Ridge exhibit to unveil Yun Chuan (pronounced yoon chu-an) and Xin Bao (pronounced sing bow), the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years.
Increased traffic on Park Boulevard and around Balboa Park is expected between Aug. 8 and Aug. 11 this week, and then during weekends through the remainder of August, a statement from the city read.
To help ease traffic, people visiting the San Diego Zoo can take advantage of a free shuttle that will pick up and drop off at the Inspiration Point parking lot, where parking is free. Additionally, public transportation is recommended, with bus lanes along Park Boulevard allowing buses to travel more easily, and Rapid 215 and Route 7 provide direct access to the San Diego Zoo.
"Dedicated bike lanes and high-visibility crosswalks on Park Boulevard provide a safe, convenient option for pedestrians and people on bicycles or mobility devices," the city statement read.
Guests will have several options to see the animals, including obtaining a free giant panda timed ticket or by just joining a standby line. Additionally, advanced reservations are available for an exclusive 60-minute Early Morning with Pandas Walking Tour before the zoo opens to guests for the day.
Panda Ridge is described as an "expansive and multidimensional experience... inspired by famous geological formations in China, emulating the mountainous forest ecosystems where giant pandas thrive while immersing you into their world," a statement from Erika Kohler, San Diego Zoo senior vice president and executive director read.
Yun Chuan and Xin Bao arrived in San Diego in late June and have spent the last several weeks acclimating to the zoo and their new habitat.
According to a San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance statement, Yun Chuan is nearly 5 years old and is described as mild-mannered, gentle and lovable. He is the son of Zhen Zhen (pronounced jen jen), who was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007 to parents Bai Yun (pronounced bye yoon) and Gao Gao (pronounced gow gow). The first character of his name, "Yun," is a nod to his grandmother Bai Yun, who lived at the San Diego Zoo for 23 years.
Xin Bao is a nearly 4-year-old female and is described as a "gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears," a zoo statement reads. Her name means a "new treasure of prosperity and abundance."
"For 30 years, we've worked alongside our Chinese conservation partners to save, protect and care for giant pandas and their ecosystems," Kohler said. "And now we have the opportunity to continue caring for and conserving these incredible bears as we expand on our transformative work to secure a future for their species."
San Diego Zoo was the first zoo in the United States to have a cooperative panda conservation program.
China recalled almost all of its pandas who were on loan to zoos in the U.S. around five years ago after relations between the two countries soured. Cooperation between China and the U.S. has led to the possibility of pandas returning to zoos, including the San Diego Zoo.
There is typically a $1 million per year fee paid by the zoos for two pandas, and the money is used for China's conservation efforts, according to a 2022 report by America's Congressional Research Service.
China first gifted the U.S. with pandas in 1972, when two were sent to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Part of the goal in loaning pandas to zoos in the United States was to help breed cubs and boost the population.
Conservation efforts have saved the giant pandas from extinction by increasing the population from fewer than 1,000 to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity, causing the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List to downgrade the giant panda from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2021.
