Coronavirus: bamboo shortage forces Canada to send two giant pandas back to China
- Calgary Zoo to ship pair back home after pandemic upends delivery of essential fresh product
- Er Shun and Da Mao refusing to eat some poor quality supplies
The Calgary Zoo said it previously had bamboo flown in from China directly, but flight cancellations had “removed this option”.
“The Calgary Zoo team has worked tirelessly with alternate bamboo suppliers to find a way to keep the giant pandas fed, despite misdirected shipments, slower than acceptable delivery times causing some poor quality bamboo that the giant pandas won’t eat, and concern with limited supplies,” the zoo said on Tuesday.
“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,” the zoo said.
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Giant pandas feed almost exclusively on fresh bamboo and each adult chews through about 40kg (88 pounds) of the plant every day.