Giant panda Yuan Yuan (圓圓) on Sunday gave birth to her second cub after years of artificial insemination efforts, Taipei Zoo said yesterday.
The female cub, which weighed 186g at birth, is being kept in an incubator, the zoo said.
It is the second cub born to Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan (團團), two giant pandas gifted to Taiwan by China in 2008. Their first cub, Yuan Zai (圓仔), also a female, was born in 2013.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Taipei Zoo
The two cubs were produced by artificial insemination, as attempts to have Yuan Yuan and Tuan Tuan mate have been unsuccessful, the zoo said.
The zoo had been artificially inseminating Yuan Yuan each breeding season since Yuan Zai was born, but the efforts proved unsuccessful until February, Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said.
It is incredibly difficult to tell if a panda is pregnant, as “phantom pregnancies” often occur, Tsao said.
The indicators in a pseudo-pregnant panda, including loss of appetite and higher hormone levels, can be the same as in a pregnant one, Tsao said.
In pandas, the implantation of a fertilized egg can also take place long after the breeding season ends, so the zoo has to closely monitor them after artificial insemination, he said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS