Unhatched penguin pronounced dead after long incubation

After 65 days of incubation, the unhatched penguin at the Taipei City Zoo was pronounced dead yesterday.

The cause of death will not be made available until today.

According to the zoo's director, Yang Sheng-hsiung (楊勝雄), authorities ventured into the penguin house at 5pm yesterday afternoon and managed to take out the egg, which had cracked three days ago.

"We thought it was time for us to interfere after 72 hours' observation," he said. "We've been very worried about the health of the father penguin, who has been continuously watching over the egg for the last 50 days."

The father penguin reportedly has been looking for the egg since the zoo authorities took it away.

In the news release issued to the media late last night, the zoo authorities suggest "parents comfort their children and take this opportunity to teach them the meaning of life and the hardship of being parents."

In addition to feeling sorry for the death of the chick, animal rights activitsts said yesterday that the public should learn a deeper lesson from the tragic incident.

"The message here is clear: It's just not right nor natural to keep wild animals in an artificial environment no matter how comfortable the environment is claimed to be by human beings," said Chen Yu-min (陳玉敏), director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan (動物社會研究會).

Chen's view was echoed by Sakya Chuan-fa (傳法師父), secretary-general of the Life Conservationist Association (關懷生命協會).

"It violates the law of nature and is not humane to keep such Antarctic creatures as penguins or polar bears in sub-tropical Taiwan," she said.

She added that it bewildered her that the zoo was hesitating when it came to putting more effort into the conservation of Taiwan's endangered species.