The Washington, D.C., National Zoo announced May 29 that pandas would be back in the nation’s capital by the year’s close. Pandemonium immediately followed. The zoo launched an entire new line of panda swag, the return of “bearthday parties,” and a renewed expectation to raise (or borrow?) an estimated $25 million in order to “revamp” the panda habitat. 

The message was delivered via video with, predictably, the Smithsonian secretary and the National Zoo director, but perhaps less predictably, first lady Jill Biden. The first lady’s presence tells us what we need to know. Pandas are not your standard wild animal.