Payment for pandas?

[snopes]

Comment: Is it true that all Panda Bears in the US are on loan from China?
None are owned by any United States Zoo. Further, does a Zoo having such
Pandas pay a loan fee to China?

[wanderwoman]

Yes, it's true according to National Geographic.

The nine pandas currently in the U.S. belong to the Chinese government, and are on loan to the zoos for 10 to 12 years. A baby panda born at the San Diego zoo three years ago also belongs to China and is due to be returned if and when the current SARS epidemic subsides there.

And they do pay a fee. The price is quite high.

These four U.S. institutions must each pay an annual fee of one million U.S. dollars to the Chinese government, which retains ownership rights to the animals.

On top of that, if a cub is born (see photo)—as with last summer's birth of Tai Shan at the National Zoo in Washington—the zoo is charged an extra one-time "baby tax" of $600,000