San Francisco’s panda venture strikes ahead

Giant panda “Yu Ke” eats bamboo at the Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing, China on April 6, 2024. (Photo by Li Hongbo/VCG via Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Two giant pandas will arrive in San Francisco by 2025, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the mayor and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. But preparing a habitat worthy of a panda is a costly undertaking.

The cute animals, which are considered national treasures in China, will live at the San Francisco Zoo. Mayor London Breed spoke strongly in favor of pandas during the APEC summit in November and during her recent visit to China.

A baby panda climbs a tree at the Chongqing Zoo in southwest China on May 26, 2024. (Photo by CFOTO/ Future Publishing via Getty Images)

To raise enough funds in time for the 2025 goal, the mayor's office asked the Board of Supervisors' Committee on Government Audit and Oversight for an ethics waiver to allow city departments to solicit $25 million in donations from private charities.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the mayor's exemption on Thursday. Final approval is still required when the full Board of Supervisors votes on the resolution at its meeting next week.

Giant pandas eat bamboo at the Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing, China, May 2, 2024. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Mayor's office officials said: “The city's ordinance on fiat payments limits the ability of city officials and employees to solicit funds from philanthropists and other private entities. The ordinance provides a temporary exception for departments that may only raise funds through private donations to bring pandas to San Francisco.”

The donations will benefit the zoo, which is owned by the city and county of San Francisco and operated by the nonprofit San Francisco Zoological Society. Part of the $25 million will be used to “build or renovate a panda enclosure that promotes a safe and thriving environment, as well as for staff capacity development,” the mayor's office wrote.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed (Photo by LOREN ELLIOTT / AFP via Getty Images)

Breed, SFZS and the China Wildlife Conservation Association signed a memorandum of understanding in April outlining San Francisco’s panda plan:

• Implement international cooperation to protect giant pandas.
• The CWCA will support the SFZS in preparations for the construction of the giant panda facility, food supply, technical know-how and staffing.
• After the conditions for cooperation are met, China will send a pair of giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.
• Both sides want to officially sign an agreement “as soon as possible” “to ensure that a pair of giant pandas will be sent to the San Francisco Zoological Society & Gardens in 2025,” the letter of intent states.

Breed previously said, “The agreement to welcome giant pandas to San Francisco was just a first step for us. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to raise the necessary funds and build the enclosure at our zoo that will serve as their home and delight residents and visitors. I am confident we will receive strong philanthropic support from the community, which enthusiastically supports San Francisco and our new panda friends.”