With the two-month-old panda cub nicknamed Yuan Zai (圓仔) having become the new media darling and drawing lots of public attention, a netizen has accused the Taipei Zoo of creating an “M-shaped” society — a term describing deep inequality — among its creatures and leaving the nation’s Formosan black bears in the cold.
The netizen, who identified herself as Peng Shu-chen (彭淑禎), recently took to Facebook to vent her frustration over what she said was the zoo’s different treatment of pandas and the Formosan black bears, both of which are endangered species.
“While the zoo’s four Formosan black bears have to crowd together in a 165 ping [544.5m2] ‘slum,’ Yuan Zai’s parents, Tuan Tuan (團團) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓), are given the privilege of living in a 438 ping air-conditioned ‘lavish mansion,’” Peng wrote.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association
Formosan black bears are much rarer than giant pandas, Peng wrote, adding that while there are about 1,590 wild giant pandas in the world, there are only about 200 wild Formosan black bears.
Yuan Zai, which was born on July 6, is the first giant panda born in Taiwan.
The parents were donated to the zoo by China in late 2008.
Shrugging off the criticism, zoo spokesman Chao Ming-chieh (趙明杰) said the zoo has never cut back on its efforts to facilitate the preservation of Formosan black bears.
“We have signed a declaration on the preservation and revival of endangered species with 16 animal conservation organizations, while assisting animal experts nationwide in helping the black bears mate and procreate,” he said.
Chao said the exhibition hall housing the three pandas was built using a NT$300 million (US$9.9 million) donation from the Shin Kong Group, adding that the hall might run out of space because the zoo plans to add more giant pandas after the cub grows up.
“It is natural that most of the public attention is being directed at Yuan Zai, since it is the first panda born in this country. Nevertheless, the zoo is endeavoring to introduce more species endemic to Taiwan to the public through the cub,” Chao said.
Chao was referring to a video featuring Yuan Yuan and Yuan Zai that the the zoo released on Friday last week. The video features an imaginary conversation between the pandas about Formosan black bears.
Meanwhile, catering to the public craze for information about Yuan Zai, a free mobile application chronicling the cub’s daily activities has drawn a lot of interest since it was launched on Aug. 20, said the developer, who prefers to be known as “mip.”
It has been downloaded more than 10,000 times, the developer said.
The app provides real-time updates on Yuan Zai, including the latest pictures and articles about the cub and some basic information on pandas, the developer said.
The app has not been approved by Taipei Zoo, but the zoo said it would not take any legal action against the developer at the moment, as the app is not for profit.
It did say, however, that it was considering applying for a trademark for the name “Yuan Zai.”
Additional reporting by CNA
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716