Transporting a Red Panda from Chicago to Calgary
On September 23, 2019, I flew a Red Panda from Chicago O'Hare airport to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This was a flight organized by LightHawk to facilitate the donation of an 18 month old Red Randa named Linus from the Cincinnati Zoo to the Calgary Zoo. Cincinnati Zoo staff drove Linus from Cincinnati to Chicago because O'Hare was the closet airport with both USDA and USFWS inspection facilities. Approvals by both of these government agencies was required before export this endangered animal.
Upon landing in Calgary, Linus garnered a lot of attention from the line crew and Canadian Customs officers....
Upon landing in Calgary, Linus garnered a lot of attention from the line crew and Canadian Customs officers....
A zookeeper from the Cincinnati Zoo joined me on the flight and did all the handling of Linus in his crate...
By design, you could not see much of Linus while in the crate...
As is standard procedure, Linus will be in quarantine for 30 days before being introduced to his new girlfriend and being visible to zoo visitors. For the quarantine period he will be in a special enclosure (highly sterilized before his arrival) in the zoo's hospital.
The Calgary Zoo folks were happy to see Linus immediately emerge from his crate and start exploring his new surroundings...
While a Red Panda may not be as famous and charismatic as the better known black-and-white Great Panda, they are still beautiful and highly endangered animals.