A bottlenose dolphin found stranded on a beach in Cigu Township (七股), Greater Tainan, two months ago has recovered from its injuries and will be put back in the sea today, the Forestry Bureau said.
In late April, the male dolphin was found on a beach with cuts and lacerations all over its body, and was immediately sent to the Taijiang Cetacean Rescue Center in Greater Tainan’s Sihcao (四草) area.
The bureau said it had called for emergency assistance from the center’s cetacean rescue team after it received the Coast Guard Administration’s report about the distressed animal. With the collaboration of National Cheng Kung University’s Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center, the dolphin was put in the Taijiang center’s pool for treatment and recovery.
The dolphin was given the name “Shunzi” (順子), meaning “success,” in the hope that it would be set free “successfully and smoothly,” the bureau said.
According to the bureau, a significant proportion of its skin was covered in blisters and the animal was diagnosed with pnumothorax and diarrhea on the first day.
The dolphin’s debilitated condition was severe enough that it was unable to swim in balance.
Late last month, the center began adjusting its diet by reducing the proportion of food it was fed by humans and increasing the amount of live food for it to prey on.
After receiving platelet-rich plasma therapy and being cared by 446 volunteers in shifts for 1,333 hours during the past two months, the dolphin recovered from all its injuries and illnesses and is back at a normal weight, the bureau said.
The volunteers’ hard work was rewarded when they observed the dolphin interacting with a rescued green sea turtle in the pool — a sign it had recovered successfully.
Following a discussion between specialists and veterinarians on June 16, the team decided to install a satellite tracking device on the dolphin and release it back into the ocean today.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS