Panda pair arrive in Canada

Beijing: Two giant pandas have left China for Canada.
Da Mao, a four-year-old male, and Er Shun, a five-year-old female, will stay in Canada for 10 years under a conservation agreement between the two countries, China Daily reported Tuesday.

"The duo will spend five years at Toronto Zoo followed immediately by another five years at Calgary Zoo," said Zhang Zhihe, chief of the Chengdu panda base.

Zhang said visitors to Toronto Zoo will be able to see the two pandas after a month-long quarantine.

Currently, fewer than 2,000 pandas remain in the wild.

The Chinese tradition of sending the animals overseas dates to when the Empress Wu Zetian gave pandas to the Japanese emperor in 658.

IANS