There are only 4 zoos in the United States that house Giant Pandas, and these are all rented from China, on a temporary basis. The lease on the pandas in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. expires next year, leaving everyone wondering if the agreement can be reinstated so that visitors can see these beautiful bears for a longer period of time. These bears are critically endangered as a species, with only 1,600 Giant Pandas estimated still living in the wild. Expense for these rare bears at the National Zoo is high. Rental fees on the bears total $1,000,000 per year, and add to that the large tailored exhibits and the cost of care and food, and the price tag to show pandas is nearly impossible. The other U.S. zoos that house Giant Pandas are in the cities of Atlanta, San Diego, and Memphis. It is estimated that these four zoos lose have lost over $40 million just from 2001 to 2003, when you look at the cost to maintain the bears versus the revenue at zoo gates. However, through generous donations the loss is now just under $4 million, still a difficult figure to justify. The birth of a baby panda at a U.S. zoo always helps to pay for the pandas, since the number of visitors always increases drastically when there is a baby panda to see. However, each time a baby panda is born in a U.S. zoo, a separate payment of $600,000 to China must also be made. All payments to China go to conservation efforts to restore panda natural habitat.

Courtesy of www.covebear.com