SAN DIEGO, Calif. — New details about a pair of pandas headed from China to San Diego.
The deal was originally announced in February.
RELATED: 2 giant pandas are moving to San Diego Zoo in a rare loan from China
China is sending two giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo – the first time it has granted new panda loans to the United States in two decades.
According to a release from China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a pair of pandas from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center at Chengu has been selected for the zoo. Their names are “Yunchuan” (male) and Xinbao (female).
It has been five years since the San Diego Zoo last had pandas.
The zoo will now begin to upgrade enclosures so the animals have a larger living space.
Once everything is approved, the two bears could arrive in San Diego by the end of summer.
The news comes more than a week after China also signed an agreement to send pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.
RELATED: San Francisco Zoo to receive giant pandas from China, Mayor Breed announces
The pandas coming to San Francisco are expected to arrive in 2025.
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