Two Formosan pangolins that Taipei Zoo loaned to Prague Zoo for a breeding project arrived in the Czech Republic on Thursday and are to make a public debut in the middle of next month, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib said.
Hrib thanked Taiwan for arranging transportation for the endangered animals.
His government would launch online voting this month to give the two animals nicknames, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Zoo
Prague Zoo said that the pangolins — a female named Jun Hou-tang (潤喉糖) and a male named Kuo Pao (果寶) — are housed in an area featuring nocturnal animals in its Indonesian Jungle section.
Hrib in March 2019 during a visit to Taiwan proposed that Taipei Zoo donate two Formosan pangolins to Prague Zoo to enable a breeding program.
The plan became reality when Taipei and Prague formalized a sister-city relationship during a visit by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to the Czech capital in January 2020.
The two zoos during Ko’s visit signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in conservation to facilitate the loan-breeding program.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prague Zoo was unable to send a team to Taipei to learn how to care for and breed the animals.
The pangolins traveled to the Czech Republic with Taipei Zoo African Animal Area head Tsai Yun-ling (蔡昀陵) and veterinarian Wu Li-hsin (吳立信).
Prague is the second zoo in Europe to house Formosan pangolins.
Taipei Zoo sent two pangolins to Leipzig Zoo in December 2016 as part of its effort to help sustain the pangolin population in Germany.
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