Calgary Zoo ready to welcome giant pandas May 7

After years of preparation, the Calgary Zoo will showcase China’s giant pandas starting May 7. The Panda Passage exhibit will launch a five-year stay in Calgary for the animals and highlight $100 million in renovations at the zoo.

It’s a culmination of a 2012 agreement signed by China and Canada to bring the pandas first to the Toronto Zoo then to Calgary Zoo. The adult bears, Er Shun and Da Mao, will be making the cross-country flight from Ontario to Alberta along with the made-in-Canada cubs, Jia Panpan (Canadian Hope) and Jia Yueyue (Canadian Joy).

Panda Passage will be located in the former Eurasian Gateway building that once housed elephants. The marquee animals are expected to increase attendance at the zoo by 25 per cent in the first year, boosting it to 1.5 million with an economic impact of $18 million.

Beyond that, the arrival of the pandas symbolizes an emotional watershed after the devastation of the 2013 flood that swamped the Bow River island, said zoo CEO Clement Lanthier.

“It has been a long road. We are very grateful for the support of our community, our members, our sponsors, donors and government,” he said. “We’re ready to reintroduce our community to a transformed world-class zoo that we are all extremely proud of.”

The zoo is also hoping Panda Passage will elevate its message of conservation. The launch coincides with other zoo improvements, such as new food concessions, the $8-million Land of Lemurs exhibit launched last year, an additional suspension bridge and better habitats.