The arrival of the giant pandas has triggered debate on the legitimacy of exchanging endangered species between countries, but the director of the Taipei City Zoo said international exchanges were necessary to sustain the existence of endangered species.
To preserve a diversity of life forms, efforts must be made to educate the public when a species is on the brink of extinction and inspire people to protect and take care of species that share the planet with human beings, Jason Yeh (葉傑生) said.
Yeh said that in the field of biological conservation, so-called “flagship species” such as the giant panda not only help generate long-term benefits for the endangered species itself, but also raise public awareness of the need to protect all animals facing extinction.
By guiding people to love and care for pandas, people may begin caring for other species and pay attention to the deterioration of the animals’ natural habitats, which are being destroyed by human activity, he said.
“This is the most important task” of the zoo’s animal display, Yeh said.
Since China announced in 2005 it would offer a pair of giant pandas to Taiwan as a gift of good will and friendship, the Taipei City Zoo has been planning and building a modern panda house that it hopes will reflect the zoo’s role in biological and ecological conservation and educating the public.
Yeh said that since 2005, the zoo had sent 17 veterinarians and animal keepers to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as San Diego and Washington in the US, and Chiang Mai in Thailand to see how other facilities had managed pandas.
Yeh said that introducing pandas into Taiwan was not to create a circus show for commercial gain.
“All the efforts the zoo has made over the past several years to acquire knowledge in caring and breeding for the animals reflect its devotion to wildlife preservation,” he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai