Calgary Zoo announces early departure of Giant Pandas amid COVID
Via Nicholas Doherty / Unplash
Well, in an effort to see the bright side in yet another sad story, we suppose it is for the best? The Calgary Zoo announced today that their beloved giant pandas, Er Shun and Da Mao, are headed home 3 years earlier than expected.
According to a heartbreaking post on their Facebook page, the Zoo said that despite their best efforts to turn it all around, they ran into several issues with transporting bamboo for the pandas to eat amid the global pandemic.
“If you can’t bring the bamboo to the giant pandas, you need to bring the giant pandas closer to the bamboo,” they wrote on their website.
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After months of overcoming barriers to transporting fresh bamboo to feed its giant pandas, the Calgary Zoo announced today that it will be relocating giant pandas, “Er Shun” and “Da Mao”, back home to China where bamboo is abundant and local. Read More: https://t.co/mVPOINd4U2 pic.twitter.com/Tpl7zpxSvc
— Calgary Zoo (@calgaryzoo) May 12, 2020
A single adult panda will eat an average of 88 pounds of bamboo a day, which became difficult without frequent deliveries from their overseas supplier. Sad.
“We believe the best and safest place for Er Shun and Da Mao to be during these challenging and unprecedented times is where bamboo is abundant and easy to access,” said Calgary Zoo President & CEO Dr. Clément Lanthier in a release. “This was an incredibly difficult decision to make but the health and well-being of the animals we love and care for always come first.”
The team worked overtime to find an alternative bamboo supplier to keep them fed, but because delivery times have been so delayed the quality of the bamboo was poor, and their giant pandas wouldn’t eat it.
Unfortunately, in-person farewells will not be possible due to the temporary closure of the Calgary Zoo, but they invite the public to say a safe virtual goodbye using their online Panda Cam.
We’ll miss those big, guys, but we think the Zoo did the right thing. Goodbye Er Shun and Da Mao!
