Two red pandas from Shanghai Zoo made their public debut today at the Taipei Zoo after completing a month-long quarantine, the Taipei City Government said.
The pair, a male named Le Le (樂樂) and a female named Tien Tien (甜甜), were gifted to Taipei Zoo under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed during the 2024 Twin City Forum.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
They arrived in Taipei on June 6.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the pandas' debut, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the animals symbolize the shared commitment of Taipei and Shanghai to conserve endangered species, protect biodiversity and promote sustainable development.
Chiang said the Taipei Zoo sent staff to Shanghai on three occasions after the MOU was signed to learn about the red pandas' diet, management and daily care.
Zoo staff told him that Le Le remained a hearty eater throughout the quarantine period, while Tien Tien was more cautious in adapting to her new environment and spent more time observing her surroundings, Chiang said.
Calling both animals "very cute," Chiang invited the public to visit Taipei Zoo during the summer vacation to meet the new arrivals.
Under the MOU, Taipei Zoo is expected to send white-handed gibbons to the Shanghai Zoo in return.
However, details of the exchange, including the number of animals and the timeline, have yet to be finalized.
The first batch of individual income tax refunds for this tax season is to be deposited on Friday, covering more than 3.65 million cases and totaling NT$61.24 billion (US$1.89 billion), with an average refund of NT$16,745 per case, the National Taxation Bureau of Kaohsiung said. After the annual individual income tax filing deadline, regional tax bureaus process refunds in three batches based on the filing method used by taxpayers, the bureau said, adding that the three batches are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, and Jan. 20 next year. The first batch covers taxpayers who completed online filing before June 1, those who
BRACE FOR WET DAYS: Heavy rain is expected in Hualien, Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula, and northern areas would see localized showers, it said A tropical depression east of the Philippines is expected to strengthen into Typhoon Noul, and a sea warning was likely to be issued as early as 11:30pm last night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm would be closest to Taiwan tomorrow, and bring heavy rain to Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), it said. If the storm strengthens into a typhoon, it would be the 12th this year. As the storm has maintained a steady speed, it is expected to cross the Bashi Channel relatively quickly, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. The storm is forecast
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck New Taipei City in northern Taiwan at 8:36pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was about 35.8km east-southeast of New Taipei City Hall, at a depth of 95.7km, the agency said. The earthquake's intensity was highest in Yilan County, New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Hualien County, Taichung and Miaoli County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Keelung, Hsinchu City, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the agency said.
Taiwanese planning trips to Morocco should carefully assess their travel plans, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said today, following reports that a travel agency had suspended its visa authorization letter application service for people visiting the country. Lion Travel yesterday said in a notice on its Web site that the Moroccan embassy in Japan had stopped accepting visa applications, prompting the company to suspend its visa authorization letter application service for people visiting Morocco. Taiwanese are required to obtain an entry visa authorization letter before traveling to Morocco, the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site says. Applications are submitted through the Moroccan
RSS