A panda primer: What you need to know before visiting the Toronto Zoo

Four-year-old panda Da Mao is seen in transit from China to Toronto.

After a 20-year absence of giant pandas in Canada, the Toronto Zoo is getting ready to introduce Er Shun and Da Mao -- two adorable creatures on loan from China -- on May 18.

As anticipation for the exhibit builds, here are some facts to know about the creatures before zoo visitors get the chance to see them in action.

An endangered species:

As China’s population continues to surge, the giant pandas’ habitat is taken over by development. This also leads to shortages of bamboo -- and since a panda’s diet is 99 per cent bamboo, shortages of this food source could leave the animals with nothing to eat. Today, there is an estimated 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild, largely in China’s Yangtze River Basin. A further 300 live in captivity.

Naming of the pandas:

The animal kingdom’s most-fussy eaters:

“Big bear cat”:

Breeding:

The cuddly creatures will spend a total of 10 years in Canada: five years at the Toronto Zoo and five at the Calgary Zoo.