EATS SHOOTS AND LEAVES

The Calgary Zoo is set to unveil four giant pandas. The excitement—albeit carefully managed excitement—is building. We asked 10 illustrators to contemplate the potential impact of the bears on the city.

Then, as now, we expect, “panda-monium” proved irresistible to headline writers.

Then, as now, the Olympics figured prominently in public discussion. Of course, in 1988, when the pandas first came to town, the Games were a tangible thing rather than a subject of debate.

Then, as now, anticipation was high. It’s too early to tell if excitement will reach the heights of 1988 when Alpha Dairy created panda ice cream—it used vanilla and licorice ice cream to render the face of a panda—and the zoo released a little ditty called “Panda Magic.” (“Oh, catch that Panda Magic at the zoo in Calgary/It’s causing panda-monium, they’re such a rarity.”) The song is easily found on YouTube, but be forewarned, it’s an earwig that just won’t quit.

There are, however, some differences between the two visits. In 1988, there were fewer than 1,000 pandas in the wild. Today there are some 2,000 and the species was taken off the endangered list in 2016. It’s still officially listed as “vulnerable,” but its improving fortunes are attributed to Chinese efforts to combat poaching and preserve habitat, efforts that are supported by funds raised with these loans.

There are other differences, too. In ’88 two females were sent from the Chonqing Zoo. Xi Xi and Qun Qun flew in on Canadian Airlines and went on display five days later and stayed for seven months. Their enclosure set the zoo back $380,000.

This time around, the zoo is hosting four pandas that arrived from Toronto via FedEx. The four represent one happy family, with Da Mao and Er Shun being the presumably proud parents of Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue. The twins were born in Toronto and their names translate as Canadian Hope and Canadian Joy, respectively.

This time, the zoo has spent $14-million on Panda Passage, which will house Da Mao and Er Shun for the second five years of their Canadian visit. (Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue will be sent to China in 2019.)

The 10-year loan of the pandas was negotiated between the governments of China and Canada and highlights some of the vicissitudes of political life. When Da Mao and Er Shun arrived aboard the FedEx Panda Express, they were welcomed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “It’s not every day in your life you get to sign for pandas,” he nearly quipped. In 2016, however, when Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue celebrated their first birthday, it was Justin Trudeau who got the cuddly photo op. (As if to prove their status as political footballs, the cubs next posed with Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne and then with Toronto mayor John Tory.)

But if the whims of the electorate are hard to discern, the zoo is hopeful that visitor interest in pandas is somewhat more predictable. The seven-month visit in 1988 contributed to record attendance of just over 1.3 million. That record stood until 2012, but the zoo expects the arrival of these four animals to boost attendance to 1.5 million.

The animals will also likely shift some souvenirs and zoo memberships when they go on public display May 7, but the real test of success will be much simpler: will the oohs and aahs of visitors come in such numbers that they leave the gorillas jealous?