Mon, Nov 30, 2020 page9

• Leopard cat, anteaters escape from Taipei Zoo 石虎、食蟻獸大逃亡　北市動物園籲協尋

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  A leopard cat at Taipei Zoo named Fei Fei was discovered missing on the morning of Nov. 22 after digging around the artificial rock near the roof netting of the Formosan Animal Area in the zoo’s Outdoor Display areas. Fei Fei apparently took flight through a hole in the netting.

  Taipei Zoo spokesperson Tsao Hsien-shao said that during the inspection in the area on the morning of Nov. 22, a zoo employee noticed that a leopard cat was missing. The CCTV footage showed that Fei Fei, a female leopard cat, who was almost four years old and had been sent to the zoo by an animal rescue organization, was digging on the artificial rock wall and had managed to make a hole.

  It is thought that the leopard cat might have entered the hole and is hiding behind the rock wall, although it cannot be ruled out that she has escaped from the zoo altogether. Fei Fei is a rescued leopard cat. Her right leg was amputated after she sustained a serious injury.

  

  One of the leopard cats in Taipei Zoo is pictured in this undated photo. One of them escaped from the zoo on Nov. 22, and the zoo carried out a thorough search but any sign of the missing feline has yet to be found. 台北市立動物園內一隻石虎上週脫逃，園方雖緊急搜尋但至今仍未尋獲。圖為園內石虎照片。

  Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo 照片：台北市立動物園提供

  Zookeepers have made six holes around the artificial rock through which to place food, hoping to encourage the leopard cat to come back through the hole of its own accord. Leopard cats are sensitive creatures, and zoo staff say they will try to keep a distance so that the leopard cat will become less wary, increasing the possibility of it emerging through the hole by itself. Members of the public are advised to maintain a safe distance if they encounter the missing animal and avoid disturbing it, and to notify zoo authorities immediately.

  Previously, on Sept. 1, a mother anteater named Little Red and her daughter escaped from the zoo by jumping over fencing. After the zoo sent out a large search party, the baby anteater, named Red Bean, was found; however, no trace of the mother has yet been found. The zoo is calling on the public to keep an eye out for the missing anteater.

  Collared anteaters, which are nocturnal animals, usually stay in the zoo building during the day and only take their cubs outside at night. When zookeepers inspected the activity site on the morning of Sept. 1, they discovered that Little Red and her daughter were missing. They immediately checked the CCTV footage and confirmed that earlier that day Little Red, with her cub in tow, had climbed over the electric fence at about 2:30am and escaped.

  

  Taipei Zoo is calling on the public to report to the zoo immediately if they spot the missing anteater. (The anteater in the picture is not the missing Little Red.) 若民眾有發現小食蟻獸的蹤跡，請立即與臺北市立動物園聯絡。（圖中動物非失蹤的個體小紅。）

  Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo 照片：台北市立動物園提供

  (Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)

  收養在台北市立動物園的一隻石虎「飛飛」，十一月二十二日上午在台灣動物區戶外活動場靠近建物頂網的人造仿岩上方挖掘後，鑽入破洞消失。

  北市動物園發言人曹先紹表示，同仁在二十二日上午巡場，發現園區石虎不見，調監視器發現，一隻由救傷體系送到園區的近四歲母石虎，在人工岩壁有挖掘動作，已於岩壁上挖出一個洞，初步研判石虎可能鑽入洞內，藏在岩壁後方，但也不排除逃出園外。石虎「飛飛」是救傷收容個體，右後腳因傷重截肢。

  保育員在仿岩周邊打出六個洞口，放置食物，盼吸引石虎自行出洞。動物園指出，考量石虎為高敏感度動物，會減少干擾，讓它放鬆警戒心，增加其出洞之可能性；若民眾發現石虎蹤跡，應保持安全距離，不要驚擾，並立即通報園方。

  無獨有偶，動物園內的南美小食蟻獸「小紅」母女在九月一日翻越柵欄脫逃，園方出動大批人力後，順利找到寶寶「紅豆」，但至今仍未觀察到媽媽蹤跡，動物園呼籲民眾協尋。

  屬於夜行性動物的小食蟻獸白天多在內舍休息，晚上才會帶著小仔至戶外場活動。保育員九月一日早上巡視活動場時，發現「小紅」母女失蹤，立即調閱監視器影像，確認當天凌晨二時三十分左右，「小紅」帶著小仔翻越設有電牧線的柵欄脫逃。

  （中央社）

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