Calgary Zoo getting ready for arrival of pandas next year

Work on the new Panda Passage habitat at the Calgary Zoo is in full swing with crews on schedule for the 2018 arrival of its charismatic residents.

Installation of the underground utility lines to service the new facility have been completed as well as demolition of outbuildings and other previously existing features within the construction zone.

Interior elements of the Panda Passage take over the area which formerly housed the zoo’s rhinos and komodo dragons, in the Eurasian Gateway Building. Renovations have already begun and will continue throughout the spring.

Foundations have been completed and framing is underway on some of the planned retail buildings to accommodate the expected 20 per cent increase in visitors to the zoo.

The loan by China of four pandas, including the twin cubs born in Canada in October 2015, is part of the Giant Panda Conservation Breeding Program to ensure the survival of the species.

The pandas, currently on loan to the Toronto Zoo, will arrive in Calgary in 2018.