A red panda at the Taipei Zoo passed away last week after a battle with lymphoma, while the latest addition to the exhibit has now been introduced to the outdoor habitat, zoo officials said on Wednesday.
The female red panda Mei Ke (美可) passed away on Wednesday last week aged 15, considered old age for red pandas in captivity, Taipei Zoo director Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰) said.
She was one of three red pandas to arrive from the Straits Panda Research Center in China’s Fuzhou in 2014 with the goal of breeding, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
A computerized tomography (CT) scan during a regular checkup in May last year revealed an abdominal tumor, the zoo said.
Veterinarians were able to stabilize Mei Ke’s condition with steroid treatments, but another checkup early last month found the tumor had metastasized, it added.
The Taipei Zoo now has 12 red pandas in total, seven male and five female.
Meanwhile, visitors are now able to see the zoo’s newest addition to the red panda enclosure.
On Dec. 28 last year, the zoo received the four-year-old male Wei Lai (未來) from Japan’s Hamamatsu Zoological Gardens.
After nearly four months of acclimating to the other red pandas, Wei Lai is now ready to enter the regular outdoor habitat, the zoo said, adding that zookeepers would gradually extend his activity time until he feels comfortable in the new space.
After next month, he would take turns with Ke Le Guo (可樂果) using the outdoor habitat, it added.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS