Fans tracking flights, adoring crowds cheering for the motorcade, and the most awaited debut of the year: Washington’s VIPs have officially arrived. And yes, we’re talking about the National Zoo’s new giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao. The three-year-old bears moved into the Zoo on Tuesday, and they’ll make their public debut on January 24. Already, Zoo staff is starting to get a sense of their different personalities. “Qing Bao is our more reserved panda, she’s a little cautious, a little bit more nervous about the new noises and sounds,” says Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas. “Bao Li is just full of energy, he loves people, he wants to interact. Just kind of opposites.” Veterinarian James Steeil echoes Thompson, sharing that Bao Li gets excited when he sees someone coming. Meanwhile, Steeil describes Qing Bao as a “planner” who moves on her own schedule. “Both are little celebrity divas in certain ways. They’re going to fit in great,” he says. The new arrivals are also bringing a sense of nostalgia for former bears. (Speaking of past pandas, Thompson saw Bei Bei on a recent trip to China and reports “he looks amazing, and he is so confident and so handsome.) Both Thompson and veterinarian James Steeil agree that Bao Li favors his grandfather, former Zoo resident Tian Tian. “He’s very much food-motivated, and that’s very similar to Tian,” says Steeil. “You can see Tian Tian in him. It’s one of those things where I know it’s not Tian Tian, but it looks like Tian Tian. He’s really sweet, he’s really gentle.” Though they traveled from Chengdu, China, to DC together, the pandas are not currently interacting. Outside of their breeding time, pandas tend to be solitary creatures. They can smell and hear each other, but that’s it for now. However, they get plenty of face time with caretakers. Thompson says they’re working to build relationships with the new arrivals: at the moment, by feeding and talking to the bears so they get to know the keeper voices, and then later through training. Once the quarantine period ends, they’ll work on acclimating the animals to the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, which recently got a revamp with new climbing structures to explore. The pandas traveled from China to Dulles airport via the Panda Express, a 19-hour FedEx flight where the airplane meal is bamboo. Steeil was on the plane with the pandas: “It’s a lot of eat, sleep, and poop.” Nature seemed to be celebrating the pandas return to Washington, too: Dianna Martin, captain of the FedEx flight, says the pandas were treated to a Northern Lights show during a stop in Anchorage and flew into DC as the sun was rising. “You feel a huge responsibility—these pandas are being tracked by their fans around the world,” says Martin. “I knew the responsibility would be there, but the unexpected part was the joy they bring. If you don’t love pandas, wow, that’s amazing.” The pandas may already be here, but it’ll be three months before the adoring public gets to greet them. The Giant Panda Cam will launch on the same day as the panda’s public debut, January 24. It will go live from 7 AM to 7 PM. The Zoo is also putting on a series of programs in honor of the new residents from January 29 to February 9, featuring activities for kids and adults that highlight the culture of the panda’s homeland as well as their new status as Washington residents.The post What We Know About the National Zoo’s New Pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao first appeared on Washingtonian.