Taipei Zoo is hoping that a female Malayan tapir that arrived on loan from Singapore Zoo will mate with its male tapir, contributing to the endangered species’ survival, it said on Monday.
The eight-and-a-half-year-old female tapir, called Putri, arrived in Taipei on Wednesday last week on hopes that she would mate with seven-and-a-half-year-old Mosu (貘樹), Taipei Zoo said.
Putri would be taken to the zoo’s Conservation and Research Center once she completes 30 days of quarantine, it said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo via CNA
Once she gets accustomed to her new surroundings and keepers, she would be introduced to Mosu, it added.
The veterinarian who has monitored the female tapir since its arrival in Taiwan said Putri is docile and approachable, and has been acting friendly toward the keepers from the first time they met.
The loan was made under the European Endangered Species Programme, which was launched in 1985 to issue zoos with mandatory breeding recommendations to keep genetic diversity as high as possible and avoid inbreeding.
The Malayan tapir, also called the Asian tapir and Asiatic tapir and the only one endemic to Asia, Africa and Europe, is the largest of the four widely recognized species of tapir.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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