Calgary Zoo panda twins leaving soon for China

Like balmy fall weather, all good things must come to an end, and in the city this week you can add to that list watching the two giant panda cubs at the Calgary Zoo.

Twins Jia PanPan, a male, and Jia YueYue, a female, who came to Calgary in March 2018, are now almost four years old. That's an age where naturally in the wild they would have already headed out on their own, says Cissy Kou, panda lead at the Calgary Zoo.

"They're solitary and they usually will leave the mom at around one to one and a half. So, yes, they're on their own," Kou said on the Calgary Eyeopener.

"Most likely, the twins, when they're back in China, they will be separated as well because they are considered to be sexually mature."

Sometime after Oct. 6, the pandas will board a plane for Chengdu, where the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is located.

"This is part of the agreement, so all pandas that are born outside of China have to go back when they are four years old to participate in the breeding program," said Kou.

Before that, the Calgary Zoo will throw them a farewell party this coming weekend, Oct. 4-6, running 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, with activities for adults and children.

"You'll be able to make a farewell gift for [the twins]. So we'll send it along with them back to China," said Kou.

"There's story time, there's lion dance, and you can make a wish with a dime — and all the money will go toward giant panda conservation."

Baby fever

The twins' mother, Er Shun, and an adult male panda, Dao Mao, will stay in the Panda Passage at the zoo until 2023.

There may be more pandas at the zoo in the years to come as Er Shun is being monitored in the hopes that she was successfully artificial inseminated in early April through a joint effort between the Calgary Zoo and the Chengdu Research Base. 

According to the International Union for Conversation of Nature, giant pandas are no longer considered endangered but are still labelled as vulnerable.

"Right now, we're monitoring [Er Shun]. Hopefully she is, but nothing is guaranteed," said Kou.

"Based on her physical changes, her behaviour, her hormonal change, she is showing that she might be, but we don't know."

The panda effect

Kou says the presence of all four pandas for the past year and a half boosted visits to the zoo and brought international attention to the importance of giant panda conservation.

"Even now, there is still a lot of people flying from around the world, and especially panda fans that do come to visit regularly," said Kou.

"People just love pandas, just the way they look. Even when they're sleeping they look cute."

After the pandas vacate the zoo completely in 2023, there are tentative plans to bring in orangutans, said Kou.

Until then, you can live stream the Panda Passage habitat at the zoo here.

Check out this adorable video from the twins' third birthday at the Calgary Zoo last year.