A few hundred pounds of bamboo, another hundred or so pounds of bamboo shoots, some apples, some water and voila — you’ve got everything it takes to ship a couple of panda bears by land and sea, from China to Canada.
Federal Express took on the task.
The company is shipping Er Shun, a 5-year-old female, and Da Mao, a 4-year-old male, for a five-year tour of duty of sorts at the Toronto Zoo and the Calgary Zoo, courtesy of a Canadian agreement with China, Raw Story reports. The agreement was forged between Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper and China former President Hu Jintao.
“[The pandas] will arrive on March 25 at the FedEx Express tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport before being carefully transported to their quarantine area at the Zoo,” a FedEx spokesman said, in a company press release. “These two pandas were selected to come to Canada as they are an excellent genetic match for breeding.”
The travel preparations were extensive, FedEx reported.
“A couple hundred kilos of bamboo, another 100 kilos of bamboo shoots, 50 kilos of apples and 20 kilos of fresh waqter,” said FedEx managing director of aircraft charters, David Lange, as cited by Raw Story.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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