Published Nov 5, 2026 5:00 PM EST Excerpted from INTHE COMPANY OF PANDAS: My Life with the World’s Favorite Bear by Dr. Brandie Smith. Copyright 2026 © by Dr. Brandie Smith. Reprinted by permission of Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. WHEN YOU take care of pandas, your primary responsibility is to make more pandas. I was told point-blank during my interviews to become curator, “Your job is to get the panda pregnant.”