Two giant pandas that have made the Calgary Zoo their home since 2018 will be heading back to China earlier than expected. The pandas, Er Shun and Da Mao, first arrived in Canada in 2014 as part of a 10-year agreement between Canada and China.
After spending five years at the Toronto Zoo, the two adult giant pandas arrived at the Calgary Zoo in March 2018 with cubs, Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue.
The cubs then travelled home to China in January, leaving just their parents to wander the Calgary Zoo’s Panda Passage exhibit.
The zoo announced the news on Tuesday, saying the decision was due to COVID-19 travel restrictions which had made it more challenging for them to get access to bamboo for the pandas to eat. “We believe the best and safest