San Diego Zoo bids fond farewell to pandas

LOS ANGELES - The San Diego Zoo will return its last two giant pandas to China next month, the zoo said on Monday.

"In honoring the terms of the zoo's conservation loan agreement with the People's Republic of China, 27-year-old female giant panda Bai Yun and her son, 6-year-old Xiao Liwu, will leave the San Diego Zoo in April and will be repatriated to their ancestral homeland," it said in a statement.

As the first panda on loan, Bai Yun ("White Cloud") first arrived at the San Diego Zoo in 1996 from China. The cuddly panda soon became an iconic image of the zoo and one of the most popular animals. The name of her son, Xiao Liwu, means "Little Gift" in English.