Taipei Zoo yesterday announced the deaths of a 23-year-old male giraffe from an age-related ailment and a giant anteater, who died after giving birth.
Koudaisha (口袋莎), who was due to give birth late last month or early this month, went into labor on Dec. 6, the zoo said.
After the anteater began showing signs of exhaustion, its keepers summoned veterinary staff, who discovered through an ultrasound that the pup had a weak heartbeat, and decided to deliver it by caesarean section, it said.
Photo: CNA
During the surgery, doctors discovered an old wound on the outer layer of the anteater’s uterus, tissues from which became stuck to an intestine and complicated efforts to extract the pup.
The zoo said the baby anteater was not breathing when it was delivered, and although it was successfully resuscitated, it died two days later.
Koudaisha lost a significant amount of blood during the surgery, and upon awakening was weak and refused to eat, the zoo said, adding that she then passed away in the morning on Monday last week.
The zoo also said that it found the giraffe Chu Chung (菊忠) dead in the indoor part of his enclosure on Tuesday morning.
An autopsy by the zoo’s veterinary team showed that the giraffe had died of “old age and organ failure,” it said.
The zoo added that while “aging, sickness and death” are a part of nature, its staff were nevertheless saddened to lose the two animals in such quick succession.
Giraffes have an average life expectancy of 20 to 25 years in captivity and 10 to 15 years in the wild.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS