The Calgary Zoo’s ‘Panda Cam’ is a relaxing mental break from strange days
Pandas sure spend a lot of time sleeping.
If you’ve noticed yourself eating more, sleeping more, and maybe even pooping more, you might feel better watching the Calgary Zoo’s Panda Cam.
The zoo features three cameras monitoring the two pandas–Da Mao and Er Shun–every day from 9AM – 6PM Mountain time.
In our days watching the Panda Cam we’ve mostly seen sleeping pandas, pandas pooping, and the occasional panda scratching itself while laying on its back. That’s exactly as adorable as it sounds.
The zoo notes that pandas sleep about 10 hours a day. This is an adaptation of pandas as their primary food source–bamboo–is relatively low in nutritional value. Sleeping that much conserves energy.
Indeed, the pandas consume 20-40kg (45-90lbs) of bamboo a day which the zoo sources directly from China through a partnership with Hainan Airlines on existing flights.
And if you ate that much you’d also poop a bunch, too, with pandas defecating some 30 or so times a day, including when they sleep.
Giant pandas have been a relative success for animal conservation. Previously on the endangered species list, pandas are now listed as vulnerable due to the success of zoo breeding programs and awareness programs. Da Mao and Er Shun can be seen at the Calgary Zoo until 2023.
