One of the National Zoo’s giant pandas celebrated a milestone birthday Tuesday evening.
Bao Li, who arrived from China in October 2024, celebrated his fifth birthday, with crowds gathered to watch the “bearthday” boy dig into his special fruitsicle cake, the zoo said. It was Bao Li’s second birthday in the nation’s capital.
- The zoo did a shark-themed party for the 5-year-old panda, as keepers put a gray shark fin on top of the cake. Bao Li cleared away the decorative elements — blueberry “bubbles,” carved sweet potatoes, a carved carrot and crushed leafeater biscuits — and bit into the frozen cake tiers, according to the zoo.
- The zoo called him an “embodiment of joy,” who loves inflatable enrichment toys.
“He is always in a lively, playful mood,” giant panda keeper Mariel Lally said in a statement. “If you aren’t sure what an overjoyed laughing giant panda looks like, keep your eye out for when Bao Li puts his forelimb in his mouth and shakes it around. When bears bite their arms in this manner, it is equivalent to people laughing.”
If you missed the celebration, the zoo will have another birthday celebration for its other giant panda, Qing Bao, on Sept. 12. You can get a free pass for the event on the zoo’s website.
