The Mayor of Kushiro in Japan said he is proud that a pair of red-crowned cranes delivered from his city’s zoo in Hokkaido became parents at Taipei Zoo in June last year.
Kika and Big arrived in 2011 as part of a project to conserve the species outside their natural habitats.
After 11 years of effort, Taipei Zoo bred a red-crowned chick that was named Li-he (哩鶴) by an online poll.
Photo: CNA
The name, suggested by EVA Airways Corp, drew the most votes in a poll conducted by Taipei Zoo.
“Li-he” sounds like “hello” in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), and the character for “he” means “crane” in Chinese.
Kushiro Mayor Hiroya Ebina on Wednesday visited Taipei Zoo with a delegation comprising Kushiro Superintendent of Education Yoshitaka Okabe, Kushiro City Council Speaker Masaaki Matsunaga, Japan-Taiwan Goodwill Association president Shuichi Obunai and Kushiro Zoo director Takahiro Suzuki.
Among the 75 species Japan has designated in the conservation project, Kika and Big are the first from among them to be exported, Ebina said.
The first of the project’s plant species exported was the marimo moss presented to Taipei Zoo in 2019, which showed “Japan’s trust in the friendship with Taiwan,” he said.
Red-crowned cranes and marimo moss are Hokkaido’s pride, Ebina said, adding that he hopes the friendship between Japan and Taiwan, as well as between Kushiro and Taipei, is everlasting.
Ebina said he has been anticipating the arrival of Big and Kika’s chick since the pair arrived in Taiwan, and was happy to finally see Li-he in person.
Taipei Zoo is one of Asia’s best, which facilitates productive cooperation in the program and conservation of the cranes, he said.
The zoo is to discuss with the Kushiro government the cranes’ ownership and their next breeding plan, Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said.
The cooperation between the two cities could be expanded to the conservation of other animals, he added.
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