Panda exhibit attendance in Toronto doesn't faze Calgary Zoo

The Calgary Zoo says it isnt worried about drawingvisitors when the giant pandas come in 2018despite a drop in attendance numbersat the Toronto Zoo's current exhibit.

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The Calgary Zoo and Toronto Zoo each signed a five-year lease agreement with China to exhibit the endangered bears.

The Toronto Zoo has them until 2018when they will be moved to an enclosure at the Calgary Zoo.

But after an initial spike in attendance when the pandas arrived in Toronto in 2013, Toronto Zoo spokesperson Lesley Dean saidthe numbers dropped this year.

An extremely cold winter andtrend among Canadians to spend less on leisure activities contributed to the downturn, Dean said.

The two bears cost nearly $2 million to house and care foron top of the $1 million lease fee to China, the Toronto Zoo said.

Dean noted that hosting the endangered species is not just about numbers.

"To be able to work with such a complex species and to contribute valuable scientific research ...to the ongoing survival of one of the worlds most critically endangered species is exceptionally important to everyone at the Toronto Zoo," she said in a written statement.

Calgary Zoo spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder said its too early to talk financial specifics for the Calgary exhibit.

She noted that in 1988, the last time the Calgary Zoo hostedgiant pandas, crowds came from all over and attendance records were broken.

"It was pandamania, I mean we called it panda magic and it truly was a magic time, she said.

Exton-Parder said she expects a similar response in 2018.