Lisa: I’m Lisa Lisson, I’m the President of FedEx Express Canada, and I’m so happy
to announce that we’re the official transportation provider for two giant pandas coming from
China to the Toronto Zoo.
Maria: Panda conservation is extremely important because they’re an endangered species, and
they’re kind of the icon of conservation of endangered species globally.
John: There’s only 2,500 in the wild and only 300 in captivity. We’re excited about
having the pandas because it’s really going to showcase the conservation that we do here
at the Toronto Zoo for all kinds of species.
Maria: We’re getting a male and a female. The female Er Shun and the male Da Mao. So
we’re hoping to breed them so we add more pandas to the captive population.
John: This will be a five year program, that we are going to work in collaboration with
other institutions across North America that have giant pandas.
Maria: So a lot of people think, okay we’re bringing pandas in from China and it’s a
matter of putting them in a crate and flying them here. No way, there’s a lot of work
leading up to getting the pandas here. When you’re dealing with a living, breathing
creature, their safety is the main focus for us. So there’s tons of vet testing, inoculations,
arranging for all the permits, and logisticals.
Lisa: At FedEx, we’re so uniquely qualified to move these special pandas because of our
global coverage and our logistical expertise.
John: We needed to find a partner that could transport the giant pandas from China to Canada.
We also needed a partner that could ship the bamboo which will be coming from the Memphis region.
Jaap: We’re importing from Memphis Zoo, between 200 to 300 kilos of bamboo, so we
might have 600 to 900 kilos provided per week to these two pandas.
John: There’s not many partners out there that can do all of that. We’re very pleased
that FedEx stepped up to be a partner with the giant panda program.
Lisa: This special panda move is one of many, in fact not only have we moved pandas but
we’ve moved alligators, whales and tigers.
Maria: They have their own panda crates, the panda plane, it’s just a huge weight off
our shoulders because we know that they’ve done it before, they know what they’re doing.
And there’s a huge checklist and it’s all a big team effort to get them here.
Lisa: I think it is so important for companies like FedEx to give back to the communities
where we live and work every single day.
John: Their expertise in transportation and logistics goes without saying and they’ve
been a proven company that can deliver on pandas, bamboo and all kinds of other shipments.
So this works extremely well for the Toronto Zoo and hopefully for FedEx as well.