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.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese