A four-year-old male red panda from the Hamamatsu Zoological Gardens in Japan has arrived in Taiwan, Taipei Zoo said on Friday.
The red panda, which has been named Wei Lai (未來), is undergoing a one-month quarantine after arriving on Thursday evening, Taipei Zoo said in a statement.
Taipei Zoo director Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰) said that it has previously imported three red pandas, one male and two females, from China in 2014.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Zoo
Since then, Taipei Zoo has bred nine additional red pandas, Chen added.
However, as all red pandas suitable for breeding are offspring of the animals from China, an animal from another family is needed to ensure genetic health and diversity, Chen said.
With assistance from the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Taipei Zoo personnel visited Japan in June to discuss an animal exchange, the statement said.
Wei Lai was chosen in July based on factors including his age and his inbreeding coefficient, it said.
Visitors to the zoo would be able to see Wei Lai in April at the earliest, it said.
Chen said Taipei Zoo had more than 20 years of experience caring for red pandas, adding that two of the zoo’s red pandas are older than 19 years old.
This is considered old for red pandas, which typically live to about 10 to 12 years old in captivity, zoologists at Taipei Zoo said.
The red panda has been listed as “endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, the zoo said.
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