Officials at the Calgary Zoo are concerned about the well-being of their two giant pandas as international travel permits still haven’t been secured for their relocation back to China.
In May the Zoo announced it would be sending Er Shun and Da Mao back home four years early because the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted bamboo supply lines.
Each adult giant panda consumes about 40 kilograms of bamboo every day.
At this point, officials say the Calgary Zoo is only able to source fresh bamboo reliably from British Columbia and this supply is expected to run out in September.
To date, China has not been able to approve international permits due to changes in its import laws and quarantine facilities.
The Calgary Zoo says the continued delay is putting the health and welfare of the giant pandas in jeopardy.
Er Shun and Da Mao arrived 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 in Calgary in March 2018 with two cubs.
The cubs were returned to China in January of this year.