The Taipei Zoo has been a hot spot for tourism over the Lunar New Year holiday, with its penguin exhibit becoming one of the most visited pavilions as tourists flocked to it to see the zoo’s resident African penguins.
The African penguin is the only species of penguin that lives in Africa. Since 2013, it has been considered an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as its population in the wild has been rapidly decreasing as a result of destruction of its habitats, marine pollution and overfishing.
The penguins can attain an average swimming speed of 7kph, reach top speeds of 20kph, and can remain under water for up to two minutes, the zoo said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
Swimming is essential for penguins, and prolonged periods of staying on shore could cause the animals to suffer from bumble foot or similar diseases, the zoo said.
Zoo officials said they arrange for all of its resident penguin populations to take a “morning swim,” adding that the sight of many penguins gathered in the pool is not dissimilar to people lounging in hot springs.
The zoo also said it had installed new nano-bubble machines in the penguins’ pool to increase oxygen and purify the water.
Some of the penguins enjoy the novelty of the new machines and constantly swim through the bubbles, it said.
Visitors can visit the penguins and see them swim every day from 9:30am to 10:30am.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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