By Skies Magazine | March 25, 2013 Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 33 seconds.
There was an unusual amount of “panda-monium” on March 25 at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. Two very important ambassadors from China arrived: Er Shun and Da Mao, a pair of Giant Pandas. The pair are making a 10-year visit to Canada, spending five years at the Toronto Zoo before moving to the Calgary Zoo for a similar duration. The pandas were the sole cargo on a FedEx MD-11F that flew halfway around the world from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to Toronto, with a short stop for fuel and a crew change in Vancouver.
FedEx is the official transport services provider for China’s pandas. This is the airline’s sixth international panda transport since 2000, and the FedEx loadmaster chosen for the job has five panda shipments to his credit. Accompanied by a veterinarian and two attendants, the pandas were well looked after: the in-flight service included up to 100 kilograms of bamboo, 150 kilograms of bamboo shoots, 50 kilograms of apples, and 15 kilograms of fresh water to sate their huge appetites. Climate and temperature were also carefully controlled.
Dubbed the “Panda Express,” the MD-11F was adorned with a large panda decal on each side. Different aircraft have been used for the various missions over the years and have had similar temporary markings applied on each occasion. These will likely be left on the aircraft for about 60 to 90 days to help promote the movement and the exhibit. As well, FedEx will be supplying the Toronto pandas with shipments of fresh grown bamboo from the Memphis Zoo three times each week, amounting to 600 to 900 kilograms of bamboo every week. More than 100 FedEx personnel in China, Canada and the U.S. made up FedEx Team Panda for this event, having worked on the project over the last two months. FedEx donates the cost of the crew, services, aircraft and fuel for panda movements.
The Toronto Zoo completed an agreement for a long-term Giant Panda conservation initiative with China in February 2012, after 10 years of negotiations. This is the first time since 1985 that the zoo has hosted pandas. The species is quite rare; only about 2,000 exist and they have difficulty reproducing. The females only have one reproductive cycle a year, and have about a two-month gestation period. The young are very tiny (about .2 kilograms at birth), and are dependant on their mothers for about 18 months. Er Shun is a five-year-old female and Da Mao is a four-year-old male, and hopes are that the pair will produce offspring while in Toronto. They have been chosen because they are a good genetic match for each other. If they successfully breed, the animals may remain in Toronto until enough time has passed to safely move the entire family.
The Panda Express descended from sunny skies to land on Pearson’s Runway 05 at 10:45 a.m., and taxiied to position on the huge FedEx ramp. The event was officially opened by the Hillcrest High School Band, which performed O Canada. The Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially signed for the pandas right after they were unloaded and then moved inside the FedEx facility. Several dignitaries spoke. Opening comments were delivered by FedEx Canada President Lisa Lisson, followed by Prime Minister Harper, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, and finally John Traconga, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, who officially welcomed the pandas and invited the country to come and see the acclaimed creatures up close. The animals were transported to the zoo in trucks adorned with special panda decals; these will also handle subsequent bamboo deliveries. The zoo’s exhibit will open to the public in May after the Pandas have finished a 30-day quarantine and settled into their new home.
Author’s note: Thanks to James Anderson and Adrian Grundy of FedEx for their assistance in preparing this article.
