Toronto Zoo preparing to welcome pair of giant pandas

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

The Toronto Zoo is preparing for the arrival of two new furry residents: a pair of giant pandas from southwestern China named Er Shun and Da Mao.

The bamboo-eating bears, on loan from China for a price tag of about $1 million a year, are set to arrive on Monday at Toronto Pearson International Airport from Chengdu, China, and will live in the zoo’s existing Amur tiger exhibit once renovations are complete.

The public, however, will not be able to see the cuddly breeding pair until May when the panda exhibit opens.

Zoo staff will care for the bears until 2018, when they will be transferred to the Calgary Zoo to live for another five years.

If Er Shun, a female, and Da Mao, a male, manage to mate during the time they are in Toronto, their black-and-white offspring will remain in the Toronto Zoo’s care until old enough to move on.

“This acquisition reflects the dedication of several Zoo staff and Board members over the past twelve years who shared the vision of a giant panda conservation program at the Zoo,” chair of the Toronto Zoo board Joe Torzsok said in a press release.

The panda dignitaries will be flying first class on a FedEx charter flight, dubbed the Panda Express. They will be travelling over 12,000 kilometers and will be accompanied by an on-board veterinarian and two attendants.

In-flight “catering” will be provided on the over 15 hour flight. Each panda will have access to 100 kg of bamboo, 150 kg of bamboo shoots, 50 kg of apples and 15 kg of fresh water.

The loan from China was finalized last year when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen were in China.

Earlier this month, the Toronto Zoo, which has not been home to pandas since 1985, announced the arrival of the Er Shun and Da Mao, in a Harlem Shake-styled video.