An 80-day-old panda cub is to headline Taipei Zoo’s Halloween celebrations, which will highlight wildlife conservation, the zoo said yesterday.
The “Zoolloween” events will focus on the living environments of endangered species, such as giant pandas and pangolins, in an effort to raise awareness of the need for animal protection, zoo official Chang Ming-hsiung (張明雄) said.
At an exhibition center dubbed the “panic house,” where the zoo has created a terrifying atmosphere to emphasize the pressing need for animal conservation, the public will learn how industrialization has threatened wild animals’ natural habitats, Chang said.
He said the zoo is hoping to build on the popularity of the panda cub, Yuan Zai (圓仔) to promote the “Zoolloween” celebrations that are being held through Nov. 3.
The birth of the panda cub has sparked lots of conservation discussions and has drawn massive attention to the plight of the endangered species as a victim of overdevelopment, Chang said.
Yuan Zai’s popularity could help the zoo disseminate information about environmental protection and worldwide conservation trends, he said.
The cub was born on July 6, after four years of efforts to artificially inseminate her mother Yuan Yuan (圓圓), using sperm from the zoo’s male giant panda, Tuan Tuan (團團).
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