Panda fans will be in heaven, at least those in Toronto, with the arrival of two pandas in Canada. The pair will spent five years in Toronto, followed by five years at a zoo in Calgary, Alberta.
But the pandas aren't permanent. Both are on loan to Canada from China. After 10 years, they will return to China. The pandas are named Er Shun, who is 5 years old, and Da Mao, who is 4 years old. There also is hope that the pair will mate while they are in Canada.
They aren't the first pair of pandas to cross the globe for an extended loan. Other pandas who have made similar treks. According to GiantPandaZoo.com, which says it tracks all pandas at zoos in the United States, there are four other zoos that currently have pandas. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Zoo Atlanta has Lun Lun, Yang Yang and Xi Lan. The San Diego Zoo has Bai Yun and Gao Gao. And the Memphis Zoo has Ya Ya and Le Le. Nine other zoos have hosted pandas in the past.
Reuters reported that China has loaned pandas to foreign zoos in the past in exchange for host fees, which generate money that goes to help pay for panda research back in China. Zoos pay the fees because they figure they will earn back the money spent in money made from extra visitors who come to see the exotic creatures.
Just how hard is it to keep a panda? Well, they are very particular about what they eat (bamboo), and they like to eat it a lot. FedEx Corp, which flew the pandas to Canada from China, said in a statement that it will fly in 600 to 900 kg of bamboo each week from the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee because "pandas are picky eaters." The bamboo will be kept in cold storage once it arrives at the Toronto Zoo.
