Giant pandas and the Panda Cam are coming back to D.C. Here’s what to know.

Call it pandamonium. Giant pandas are returning to D.C., the Smithsonian’s National Zoo announced.

The news comes as a surprise, about five months after Mei Xiang and Tian Tian — the panda couple on lease from China — were sent back to Chengdu ending their 23-year stay in the United States.

Their return marked the end of an era for fans of the pandas. Over the years, the pair produced four cubs, who have all been returned to China, as part of a research and breeding agreement.

The zoo announced Wednesday that two new giant pandas would arrive later this year.

“For more than five decades, the National Zoo has created and maintained one of the world’s foremost giant panda conservation programs,” said a post from the Smithsonian and first lady Jill Biden. “The new bear pair marks our next chapter of saving this species.”

The pandas’ arrival will also mark the return of the beloved Giant Panda Cam, where virtual visitors can watch live feeds of the pandas in their enclosure.

Here’s what we know.

The new pandas are Bao Li, a 2-year-old male, and Qing Bao, a 2-year-old female, a Smithsonian statement said.

Bao Li — whose name means “treasure” and “energetic” in Mandarin — was born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan. His mother is Bao Bao, who was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in 2013, and his father is An An. In turn, his maternal grandparents are the legendary Tian Tian and Mei Xiang. Bao Li lives at the Shenshuping Base in Wolong.

Bao Li was selected partially because of his National Zoo lineage, a spokesperson told the Washington Post.

Qing Bao’s name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin. Her parents do not have direct National Zoo ties. Qing Bao lives at Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan.

The pandas will arrive later this year, said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who did not provide specifics.

A zoo spokesperson told the Washington Post that the zoo prefers to transport animals like giant pandas in cooler weather, and that fall was a safe bet, but declined to reveal an exact date, citing security reasons.

Once the pandas arrive, they’ll be quarantined for at least a month for safety. After that, they’ll have a few weeks to acclimate to their habitat quietly. When zoo staff thinks they’re ready for crowds, they’ll make their public debut.

It’s unclear when the Giant Panda Cam livestream will return. The camera’s website lists it as “coming soon” and promises a return of the live feeds by the end of the year.

Similar to past deliveries, FedEx will provide a dedicated flight and ground transportation to the pandas and their care team.

“We look forward to once again calling the FedEx Panda Express into service and using our logistical expertise to safely move Qing Bao and Bao Li to Washington, D.C.,” said Richard W. Smith, the president and chief executive officer of FedEx’s Airline and International department.

No, chill. They’re too young and we don’t even know if they like each other yet.

National Zoo director Brandie Smith told the Washington Post that pandas aren’t social and Bao Li and Qing Bao will not be “playmates.”

In turn, zoo staff will not put the two pandas together, but will create opportunities for them to catch glimpses of one another and pick up each other’s scent — think a very extended meet-cute.

The hope is that the pair will eventually produce cubs. Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between ages 4 and 7. The animals could eventually breed naturally, or with the help of artificial insemination.

Giant panda reproduction is notoriously tricky, the Washington Post reported. Hilariously, the National Zoo’s long-staying pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, Bao Li’s grandparents, mostly enjoyed each other’s company and breeding attempts — they were just bad at it and not for a lack of trying.

The pandas will learn a few English words, but mostly respond to hand signals, Smith told the Washington Post.

Pandas are strict vegetarians.

In the wild, giant pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo. At the National Zoo, they’re fed bamboo, a special panda biscuit, carrots, and apples.

According to an archived post from the Smithsonian, the biscuits were created by clinical nutritionists to help supplement the giant pandas’ diets. A biscuit formulated for Tian Tian in 2017 had a mix of enriched biscuits along with beet pulp.

The pandas ate a special panda bread in China, which National Zoo nutritionists have requested the recipe for, Smith told the Washington Post.

The new pandas will be here on a 10-year lease, which ends in April 2034. The zoo will pay the China Wildlife and Conservation Association an annual fee of $1 million, according to its statement. The fee will not come from federal funding.

The National Zoo is fundraising, seeking $25 million in donations to go toward enhancing the panda exhibit and the Giant Panda Cam. New features will include enrichment activities like rock structures with shallow pools, bamboo stands for foraging, and climbing structures.

Federal funding covers the animals’ essential expenses, including food, medicine, care staff, and facility maintenance.

But zoo leadership says donations are critical to fund most of the annual $2.8 million giant panda conservation program budget.

Duh. For years the giant panda exhibit has proved to be a lucrative merch opportunity for the National Zoo. And the announcement of two new arrivals is no exception.

Following the news of Bao Li and Qing Bao, the Smithsonian launched a new black and white “The Pandas Are Coming” merch collection.