Canadian zoo returns two pandas to China after coronavirus delays bamboo shipments

Giant pandas, Da Mao and Er Shun, arrived in Toronto in March 2013 as part of a global giant panda conservation breeding program.(Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

In addition to horrific death tolls, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed jobs, entertainment and travel. Now it’s taking a toll on animals as well.

The Calgary Zoo in Canada announced Tuesday that it would be sending two giant pandas, Er Shun and Da Mao, back to China because travel restrictions have made it impossible to get enough bamboo delivered.

In a statement, the zoo said direct flights between China and Calgary have been canceled, which meant they were shipping the bamboo from China to Toronto to Calgary. But so few flights are flying between China and Toronto that even that became impossible.

“This is too much stress on my team and on the pandas," zoo president and CEO Clément Lanthier told CBC News. "Can you imagine not having bamboo for a few days?”

Pandas consume about 40kg of bamboo per day, which makes up 99% of their diet, according to the zoo.

Lanthier said employees have been working to get alternate supplies of bamboo for Er Shun and Da Mao, but nothing worked.

“They don’t like the bamboo they get. They get fewer bamboo. The bamboo’s too dry,” he told CBC News.

“It’s too unpredictable, and I cannot manage a collection here at the zoo with that kind of uncertainty of, ‘Oh, will we be able to feed this species or that species tomorrow?’ That’s unacceptable.”

The giant pandas were on loan from China on a 10-year agreement set to expire in 2023. The pandas spent five years at the Toronto Zoo, then moved to Calgary in March 2018, along with their cubs, Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue.

"Er Shun and Da Mao will be deeply missed by staff, volunteers, donors and visitors from around the world," the zoo said in a statement.

“Knowing a second wave of COVID-19 is likely, and the bamboo supply chain challenges will continue to negatively impact the zoo’s ability to bring bamboo to the giant pandas, the Calgary Zoo feels it’s critical to move the beloved giant pandas back to China where there are abundant local sources of bamboo as soon as possible.”