Giant Pandas to Be FedExed to China

THE GIST:

• Two U.S.-born giant pandas, Mei Lan and Tai Shan, are traveling together from American zoos to China.
• The giant pandas will travel on the "FedEx Panda Express," a fuel-efficient plane that will jet them to China in a record 14.5 hours.
• Conservationists estimate that fewer than 1,600 giant pandas remain in the wild.

Mei Lan and Tai Shan, two U.S.-born giant pandas, must depart for Chengdu, China, Thursday to fulfill global conservation program agreements, but the black and white pair will be traveling in style aboard a custom-decaled FedEx Express 777 Freighter dubbed the "FedEx Panda Express."

The trip will be the world's fastest U.S.-to-China journey ever made by pandas, since the fuel-efficient 777F aircraft -- the newest addition to the FedEx global fleet -- is expected to make the nonstop trip in just 14.5 hours.

Using slower planes, FedEx transported Tai Shan's parents from China to Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian National Zoological Park in 2000, and in 2003, transported two other giant pandas from China to the Memphis Zoo.

WATCH VIDEO: Watch as Mei Xiang and Tian Tian travel from China to the National Zoo.

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"We have been preparing for this journey since Tai Shan was born," National Zoo spokesperson Karen Korpowski-Gallo told Discovery News, explaining that the 4.5-year-old was supposed to leave for China two and half years ago, but the beloved bear was granted a two and a half year extension.

"It's a bittersweet moment for us," Korpowski-Gallo added. "We're all going to miss him, and he's such a rock star in D.C. One look into his teddy bear eyes and you can't help but fall in love with him."

"But we're not all doom and gloom here," she added. "We realize he was meant for a bigger purpose, a bigger destiny."

She said the popular, "easy-going" panda has been "trained to go into small spaces, tolerate people and loud noises," all of which should serve him well during tomorrow's flight.

On Thursday morning, 3-year-old female giant panda Mei Lan will arrive at Washington's Dulles International Airport from Zoo Atlanta. Both she and Tai Shan will be traveling in their own FedEx Express-provided custom built containers made of steel and lexan, a see-through material used in making bulletproof windows.

Oh the cuteness: See video of the National Zoo's pandas, from cub on. Why do pandas do what they do? Pandas behaving here. Get to know other pandas at the zoo. Panda games: Take a quiz or build a puzzle!

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Ground transportation consists of FedEx trucks that, according to Korpowski-Gallo, will receive police escorts. The giant pandas in their containers will be carefully fork-lifted on and off the trucks. Zookeeper Nicole Meese, who is Tai Shan's U.S. caretaker, will accompany the bears on their journey. A veterinarian will also be on board the plane.

"Tai Shan loves pears, apples and sweet potatoes, so he will likely get to snack on those, if he wants them, during the trip," Korpowski-Gallo said, mentioning that bamboo will also probably be available for the bear travelers.

Both giant pandas received "exit medical exams" recently and are said to be in perfect health.

Upon arriving in Chengdu, Tai Shan will be received by the China Wildlife Conservation of Giant Panda Breeding. Tai Shan will then be sent to his final destination, the Bifengxia Breeding Base in Ya'an, Sichuan.

Mei Lan is also headed for Sichuan, but to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center. A language tutor is presently being recruited via the Internet for the female bear.

"Mei Lan has been living in the United States since she was born, and she must be unfamiliar with Chinese," Huang Xiangming, director of the center's animal management, told the Xinhua News Agency.

Cui Kai, one of Xiangming's colleagues, added that Mei Lan will learn Chinese with a Sichuan dialect, permitting her to understand basic commands, such as those instructing her to come out of her "dormitory" or to return to her cage.

It is hoped that both Mei Lan and Tai Shan -- with separate partners -- will produce cubs of their own in China. Tai Shan may be ready to breed in just half a year's time. Conservationists estimate that only 1,600 pandas remain in the wild, so every successful birth is important for the international captive breeding program.

The National Zoo may soon have reason to celebrate again.

"It's possible that Mei Xiang (Tai Shan's mother, who is still in D.C.) is pregnant as we speak," said Korpowski-Gallo, who added that it takes a few months time to confirm panda pregnancies. The cubs, which can reach up to 250 pounds as adults, weigh just 3.5 to 4 ounces at birth.