The Taipei Zoo celebrated its 21st anniversary in its Muzha (
Like many sunny Saturdays, the MRT train to the zoo was packed with families on their way to enjoying a day out with the animals.
Although many families were not aware that it has been almost 21 years since the zoo moved from its cramped location in Yuanshan (圓山) to the more spacious environs of Muzha, others turned up specifically because of the anniversary.
Zoo workers estimate that more than 30,000 visitors entered the turnstiles yesterday.
Among celebratory activities were musical performances and quizzes testing kids about animal knowledge, but the star attraction was a display of ancient dinosaur fossils on loan from paleontologist Huang Da-yi (黃大一) of the Dino Dragon international research foundation.
Visitors were not only able to see but to touch the one-day display, including a 70 million year-old anatosaurus femur that Huang discovered on a dig in Montana.
Wang Mei-mei (
"Lift it up to see how heavy it is," said Wang, encouraging a visitor who had stopped to touch the ancient leg bone.
Wang said that the reaction to the display had been very positive, with visitors surprised and pleased by the opportunity to touch something so ancient.
"We are working with the zoo to see if we can put together a permanent display,"Wang said.
The zoo also used the occasion to solicit sponsorships from visitors. Donations go toward care for the animals as well as research. Zoo personnel estimates that there are approximately 1,300 sponsors who pay NT$1,000 a year to become a friend of the zoo.
Taipei resident Yang Ming-yu (
"I've been coming to the zoo ever since I was young," Yang said. "It's a favorite activity for the whole family and we try and make it here at least once a year."
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
TOO DANGEROUS: The families agreed to suspend crewed recovery efforts that could put rescuers in danger from volcanic gases and unstable terrain The bodies of two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot have been located inside a volcanic crater, Japanese authorities said yesterday, nearly a month after a sightseeing helicopter crashed during a flight over southwestern Japan. Drone footage taken at the site showed three bodies near the wreckage of the aircraft inside a crater on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, police and fire officials said. The helicopter went missing on Jan. 20 and was later found on a steep slope inside the Nakadake No. 1 Crater, about 50m below the rim. Authorities said that conditions at the site made survival highly unlikely, and ruled
RSS