Fresh bamboo secured for Calgary Zoo giant pandas
The Calgary Zoo has secured fresh bamboo for its giant pandas to tide them over until international permits are approved to return them to China.
Officials said their supply was dwindling as shipments of high-quality bamboo from China were hard to maintain because of limited or cancelled flights in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The crisis has also delayed international permits approvals to return pandas Er Shun and Da Mao home, where supplies are abundant.
“The Calgary Zoo is sourcing fresh bamboo for them from a variety of suppliers across North America, in anticipation of our Canadian bamboo supply being depleted later this month,” said the zoo in a statement.
“While not ideal because this effort is an all-consuming, expensive process, the Calgary Zoo is committed to doing anything and everything we need to, to ensure the health and well-being of our cherished giant pandas.”
Er Shun and Da Mao have been in Calgary since March 2018 and were expected to remain through 2024 as part of a 10-year agreement between Canada and China. The pair spent their first five years at the Toronto Zoo.
Calgary zoo officials confirmed on Friday that international permit approvals are underway.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we'll have a flight confirmed to get them home to China, where bamboo is abundant and local, very soon,” they said.
The facility has originally imported bamboo from China directly but, when flights were impacted, began receiving bamboo from Toronto, the United States and Vancouver Island.
But the pandas refused to eat some of the bamboo because they preferred the taste of the Chinese product. Dr. Doug Whiteside, a senior veterinarian at The Calgary Zoo, told Postmedia that can happen because they have a specific taste and smell for bamboo and are selective eaters.
“They will take each individual stalk they're given and smell it and decided whether they want to eat it or not,” Whiteside said. “To them, they can tell if the taste is off just by a little bit … it's kind of hit or miss depending on where the bamboo is from.”
Bamboo makes up 99 per cent of a giant panda's diet.
They consume approximately 40 kilograms daily.
Panda Passage remains closed at the Calgary Zoo while the pair prepare for their journey home.