China signs giant-panda conservation agreement with San Diego Zoo

Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The China Wildlife Conservation Association said Thursday it has signed contracts to continue a conservation program that could lead to giant pandas returning to America.

The association said it signed a new agreement with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance three months after the last Chinese giant panda left the United States.

It added that it came to an agreement with the Madrid ZooAquarium of Spain and was in negotiations with another zoo in the United States and another in Austria.

"Ensuring the health and safety of the giant pandas living abroad is the most important premise and formation of international cooperation," a source with the Chinese association told Xinhua News.

San Diego Zoo officials said the conservation agreement is the first step in seeing a return of the giant pandas to southern California.

"We are humbled by the potential opportunity of continuing our collaborative conservation efforts to secure the future for giant pandas," Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said in a statement.

"The San Diego Wildlife Alliance is taking important steps to ensure we are prepared for a potential return. This includes sharing our detailed conservation plans with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure alignment for the greater benefit of giant pandas."

The National Zoo in Washington saw the last giant panda leave in November after an agreement that lasted 23 years. China owns and leases all the giant pandas at U.S. zoos.