EATS SHOOTS & STAYS

A privately chartered FedEx MD-11F plane is expected to touch down in Toronto Monday morning, bringing Er Shun, Da Moa and a new wave of giant panda frenzy to Canada. After an expected photo opportunity with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife, Laureen, near Pearson International airport, the pandas will make their way to the Toronto Zoo, where they will live for five years before relocating to the Calgary Zoo for another five years. The animals are on loan from China to participate in a breeding and conservation program. “We are hoping that the breeding program will produce the first giant panda born in Canada,” said Cynthia Shipley, manager of media relations and events for the Toronto Zoo. But don’t expect to see the pandas for a while. They will be given plenty of time to get acquainted with their new surroundings before interacting with the public. In the meantime, the National Post’s Dionne Wilson offers 10 things to keep in mind about giant pandas.

1 This will mark the second time China has loaned pandas to Canada in almost 30 years.

2 Female giant pandas are only capable of reproducing once every other year from age 4 to age 20.

3 Talk about your baby weight: giant panda moms are 900 times bigger than the average .113 kg newborn.

4 Where’s a dentist when you need one: The average size panda tooth is seven times that of a human being.

5 Giant pandas can eat up to 20 kilograms of bamboo, for 16 hours, in one day. The rest of their day is presumably for sleeping and posing for photos.

6 Ancient Chinese tradition prohibits the naming of a giant panda cub for at least 120 days after being born. One early suggestion: Jack Black, but don’t feel obliged to use it.

7 The Chinese call giant pandas Big Bear Cats because, like a cat, pandas have vertical slits instead of round eyes.

8 Unlike the average bear, giant pandas don’t hibernate because their bodies will not store enough fat and their main dietary source, bamboo, is available year-round.

9 Don’t get confused when you hear a giant panda making noise. It emits a bleating sound similar to that of small goat or a lamb, but that’s where all similarities end.

10 Is it possible to have too much fiber? You can expect a giant panda to defecate up to 40 times a day.