China sends pandas to Canada as sign of warmer diplomatic ties

Two pandas arrived to Canada on Monday after having left China on Sunday, where they will stay for ten years in an agreement signed by officials from the two countries.

Ershun and Damao were accompanied by animal protection experts during the 12-hour flight from Chengdu to Toronto, according to a report by the China News Service (CNS).

The animals were put in special cages designed for air travel.

The pandas left the airport in Chengdu aboard a plane specially chartered by a logistics company.

The loan of the two pandas was agreed in February 2012 during a visit to Chengdu by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper is in Toronto today to say hello to the two of the country's newest visitors. The furry creatures are a sign of warmer diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The pandas will stay in Toronto and Calgary zoos for five years in a visit that's believed to be the first one of the species to Canada since the 1980s.

"During the transportation process, pandas should not eat too much. They should not get too full," said Yang Kuixing, a nutritionist at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center.

"They might feel uncomfortable and dizzy during the flight if they eat too much food," Yang added.

Researchers have calculated that the pandas should eat 300 to 500 grams of special panda biscuits made of concentrated bamboo and apples.

China is home to more than 1,600 wild pandas, while the number of pandas in captivity stands at more than 300, according to the country's State Forestry Administration.


AP/LBCI