An autopsy on a Malayan tapir that died during a flight to Taiwan on Friday showed that the animal died of circulation failure, coagulation disorders and pulmonary edema due to heat stress, Taipei Zoo said yesterday.
A two-year-old Malayan tapir named Hideo from Yokohama Zoological Gardens “Zoorasia” arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening, but after an inspection at the airport warehouse, blood was found near its crate, and it was not breathing.
It was confirmed that Hideo had no heartbeat at midnight after the crate was opened at Taipei Zoo, the zoo said on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of the Yokohama Zoological Gardens “Zoorasia"
On Sunday, Taipei Zoo gathered its veterinarians and experts from National Taiwan University’s School of Veterinary Medicine to perform an autopsy on Hideo, and held an online meeting with officials from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, and experts from Yokohama Zoo.
Taipei Zoo Veterinary Office chief Lai Yen-hsueh (賴燕雪) yesterday said there were visible blood marks inside and outside the crate when it arrived at the airport, and after opening the crate, they found a friction injury on Hideo’s head, serious scratches on his four limbs, pale muscles and subcutaneous bleeding.
“After performing the autopsy, we could exclude the possibility of a serious infection, because we observed coagulation disorders throughout the body and pulmonary edema, caused by heat stress,” she said.
When they opened the crate, Hideo was found to have a core body temperature of 41°C, Lai said, adding that the Malayan tapir normally has a body temperature of 36°C to 37°C, and when its body temperature rises to 41°C, it can lead to a series of reactions leading to multiple organ failure.
Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) said a body temperature of 41°C is extremely high and no mammals can survive the temperature for long, but the local temperature at Narita International Airport near Tokyo was about 22°C when Hideo boarded the plane, and the airline maintained a temperature of 26°C to 27°C in the cargo hold during the flight.
It is unknown what caused Hideo’s core body temperature to rise, and the open wounds were most likely caused by him bumping against the sides of the crate because he was uncomfortable and struggling, Tsao said, adding that the zoo would try to clarify what part of the transportation went wrong, to prevent any repeat incidents.
He said that the Japanese experts did not have different opinions toward their autopsy results, but they all felt sad about the incident, especially the zookeeper who took care of Hideo since he was born.
The two-hour flight is not very long for animal transportation, he said, adding that the Japanese side arranged the transportation this year, but Taipei Zoo would seek to play a larger role in planning animal exchange programs, he added.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
RSS