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National Geographic

THE LAST OF ITS KIND?

Saturday, April 1, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we visit Mexico City's last panda, meet an analyst of African Americans' past to understand today ... and explore history's best hoaxes. Plus, take music lessons with this pup.

Xin Xin

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEJANDRO CEGARRA

As part of China’s grand ‘panda diplomacy’, Xin Xin’s grandparents were given to Mexico, sparking a kind of pandamania in the nation.

Now Mexican-born Xin Xin, at 33, is the only panda in Latin America and one of few in the world that doesn’t belong to China. Mexico loves her (see below), but not as fervently as her predecessors. How are caregivers helping her? Will more pandas head that way?

Read the full story here.

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A zoo worker holding a panda piñata

Keeping Xin Xin alert: Nearing the upper limit of pandas in captivity, workers try to keep her mentally alert. Above, one worker enters Xin Xin's habitat holding a panda piñata as part of an enrichment program.

A boy holds a panda and lion stuffed animal

Enduring love: Xin Xin is the last of 11 pandas in Mexico. Matteo Milonas, an eight-year-old visitor to the Chapultepec Zoo, poses with a stuffed panda and lion.

A panda mural inside the Mexico City metro system

Pandamania: In the 1970s, pandas were so popular in Mexico they appeared in pop music, TV programs, and memorabilia. Today, commuters hustle past a mural of a giant panda inside the Mexico City metro system. Read more.

STORIES WE'RE FOLLOWING

Old family photos

PHOTOGRAPH BY REBECCA HALE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Your senses change as you age. This is how to keep them sharp. (Pictured above, the owner of these family photos has dementia)

What we know about the real Jesus

Sleep controls everything—from our sexual desires to our moods

Who started the Illuminati?

Nazi U-boats almost won WWII. See how with these striking maps.

This Nat Geo Explorer mapped every drop of water in the world—and where it's going

Related: The World Water Map

A scientist and Nat Geo Explorer analyzes African Americans’ past to inform the present

Not a joke: Dinosaurs actually had lips

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A person cliff dives in Montana

PHOTOGRAPH BY COREY ARNOLD, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

A tent for two, please? Spring has sprung, and with it some extra pep in your step to get outside and see nature's awe. But getting a national park reservation can come with pain points, like navigating timed reservations to avoid overcrowding. Here's your guide to finding peace in the parks. (Above, a cliff diver in Montana’s Glacier National Park.)

NAVIGATE NATIONAL PARKS

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A cat dressed up hanging clothes

PHOTOGRAPH BY HARRY WHITTIER FREES, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

A century-old April Fools: No, Nat Geo is not stopping publishing nude animal pictures. This kitty just wants to be left alone to finish her laundry. These photos were created in the early 1900s as part of a series on well-dressed cats and dogs, by Harry Whittier Frees.

Related: Six of history's greatest pranks and hoaxes (like the foreskin of Jesus)

ADORABLE ANIMALS

LAST GLIMPSE

Girls in tartan dance on grass

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAOLO VERZONE

The hills to the streets: Plaid—otherwise called tartan—has a complex history. From school uniforms to athletic wear, from rebels to royalty, tartan has seen it all: from the Scottish Highlands to the streets of Tokyo—and it's not what you may think. (Above, dancers in plaid in Scotland.)

Today’s soundtrack: Milou, Stéphane Grappelli, from the film May Fools

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, and Jen Tse. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alisher Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Thanks for reading!

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