Madou Crocodiles King (麻豆鱷魚王) is looking to China as a potential buyer for its main attraction — a giant crocodile — as the Tainan zoo’s closing date approaches.
The zoo’s eponymous king croc is a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) that is 5.8m long and weighs 1,250kg.
It devours 20kg to 30kg of fish daily, and will continue to grow to between 7m and 8m, said Chiu Hsi-ho (邱錫河), owner of the zoo in Madou District (麻豆).
Chu, who has cared for the massive reptile for 30 years, said it is the biggest living crocodile in the nation and a pampered pet that he has come to regard as an “old friend.”
However, the 37-year-old zoo can no longer keep its business license due to recent changes to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), and is due to close on Feb. 4, Chu said.
Chu is looking for buyers for the 166 types of animals in his zoo, some of which are rare specimens, including his “old friend.”
The most likely buyer for the croc is a zoo in the Chinese city of Xiamen, he said.
“They gave us pandas, so maybe I can send them this crocodile in return,” he said.
“It will be the biggest crocodile in China, too,” he said.
“Letting people know where it came from can be a good way of promoting Taiwan,” he added.
Prior to the zoo’s closing, this might be the last chance for people to see his giant croc, Chu said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS