The Taipei Zoo celebrated its 21st anniversary in its Muzha (
Like many sunny Saturdays, the MRT train to the zoo was packed with families on their way to enjoying a day out with the animals.
Although many families were not aware that it has been almost 21 years since the zoo moved from its cramped location in Yuanshan (圓山) to the more spacious environs of Muzha, others turned up specifically because of the anniversary.
Zoo workers estimate that more than 30,000 visitors entered the turnstiles yesterday.
Among celebratory activities were musical performances and quizzes testing kids about animal knowledge, but the star attraction was a display of ancient dinosaur fossils on loan from paleontologist Huang Da-yi (黃大一) of the Dino Dragon international research foundation.
Visitors were not only able to see but to touch the one-day display, including a 70 million year-old anatosaurus femur that Huang discovered on a dig in Montana.
Wang Mei-mei (
"Lift it up to see how heavy it is," said Wang, encouraging a visitor who had stopped to touch the ancient leg bone.
Wang said that the reaction to the display had been very positive, with visitors surprised and pleased by the opportunity to touch something so ancient.
"We are working with the zoo to see if we can put together a permanent display,"Wang said.
The zoo also used the occasion to solicit sponsorships from visitors. Donations go toward care for the animals as well as research. Zoo personnel estimates that there are approximately 1,300 sponsors who pay NT$1,000 a year to become a friend of the zoo.
Taipei resident Yang Ming-yu (
"I've been coming to the zoo ever since I was young," Yang said. "It's a favorite activity for the whole family and we try and make it here at least once a year."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS