Calgary Zoo hopes to impregnate panda in next few weeks

Er Shun, the adult female panda at the Calgary Zoo, is now in the early stages of her breeding cycle, so staff will spend the next few weeks monitoring her hormone levels for possible artificial insemination.

"Generally, females cycle in spring. Although it may not feel that way in Calgary, her body is telling her it's time," said general curator Colleen Baird.

Hormone levels in blood and urine will be checked daily and animal care specialists in Calgary will consult with panda reproductive specialists in China to determine the best timing for possible insemination.

The back-of-house area in Panda Passage was built to accommodate a nursing den, should Er Shun become pregnant through the program.

The four giant pandas — Er Shun and her male counterpart, Da Mao, and her offspring Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue — have proven to be immensely popular since their arrival last May as the zoo saw a record 1.5 million people pass through the gates in 2018.

Er Shun gave birth to her cubs while at the Toronto Zoo in 2015. 

The process isn't guaranteed to work, but Calgary Zoo staff are hopeful. 

"Wouldn't it be amazing if on our first try that happened? I'm not going to hold my breath on it but I have hope, for sure," said Baird.

"I think all the pieces are lining up for us: she's in good body condition, she's in good health."

The gestation period for pandas is about four months.

Each year they are in Calgary, the Calgary Zoo will contribute $1.4 million to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China to support conservation initiatives such as breeding, habitat protection, reintroduction science and research.

It costs about $1.5 million a year to care for the pandas. That includes paying for the zookeepers who care for them, the bamboo they eat, enrichment items, Chinese specialists to help with their care and other general supplies they need.

The pandas consume about 1,100 kilograms of bamboo a week, which has to be flown in from China. 

They are scheduled to stay in Calgary for five years. 

Giant pandas are considered an umbrella species, meaning that by helping to protect them, other species that inhabit their natural environment will also be protected.

There are fewer than 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild.

Three 'PandaCams' have been set up at the panda enclosure in the Calgary Zoo.