Eighteen Aldabra giant tortoises are doing well and have grown from 40g to 1kg since they hatched in captivity last year, Taipei Zoo said.
Adult Aldabra giant tortoises can live for more than 150 years, the zoo said in a statement last week.
The tortoises were born to Shuei Ke (帥哥) and Chung Chung (中中), a male and female that the Forestry Bureau handed to the zoo in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
They had been seized after being discovered in illegal captivity, it said.
The zoo tried to get the tortoises to mate for five years and it finally succeeded in 2017, resulting in 20 inseminated eggs, 18 of which survived being artificially incubated.
They hatched in March and April last year, it said.
Zoo workers feed the tortoises a diet of vegetables that is rich in fiber, as well as calcium supplements, while monitoring their growth by weighing and measuring them monthly, it said.
The tortoises are growing at a rate comparable to specimens in the wild, it added.
The tortoises are allowed to bask in the sun so that ultraviolet rays stimulate healthy bone and shell growth, the zoo said.
Normally placid and social, Aldabra giant tortoises are known to be single-minded in the presence of food and trample or shoulder aside all obstacles, including other tortoises in the vacinity, the zoo said.
The giant tortoises reside at the zoo’s amphibian and reptilian area and visitors can take part in special tortoise activities by scanning a QR code, it said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS