Bon voyage, Bao Bao! National Zoo panda heads to China soon

WASHINGTON - The National Zoo says 3-year-old panda Bao Bao will fly to China this month.

The zoo tweeted Monday that Bao Bao will move to China on Feb. 21. The zoo recently announced a celebration of Bao Bao starting Feb. 16 in anticipation of her departure.

The zoo's co-operative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association requires all cubs born at the zoo move to China by the time they turn 4 years old. Bao Bao turns 4 on Aug. 23.

Bao Bao is the first surviving cub born at the zoo since 2005. Older brother Tai Shan left for China in 2010. Their mother, Mei Xiang, has since had a third surviving cub, Bei Bei, who was born on Aug. 22, 2015.

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  Panda cub Bao Bao, roams in an enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington on Sept. 25, 2015. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)