Taipei Zoo is arranging for panda experts from China to travel to Taiwan to help examine 18-year-old male giant panda Tuan Tuan (團團), whose health has deteriorated in the past few months, zoo management said yesterday.
Tuan Tuan had three seizures in late August, after which he has appeared increasingly lethargic and unsteady on his feet. After undergoing an MRI on Sept. 18, he was diagnosed with a brain lesion and began receiving anti-seizure medication.
A recent MRI scan showed that the lesion had grown and appeared to be exerting pressure on other parts of Tuan Tuan’s brain.
Photo: CNA
At a news conference yesterday, Wang I-min (王怡敏), head of the animal division at Taipei Zoo, said experts from both sides had been in close communication with each other and the zoo has arranged for two Chinese experts to travel to Taiwan and stay for seven days.
However, details such as the names of the experts and the dates of their visit will depend on approval from the government and when the Chinese experts plan to come, Wang said.
When discussing Tuan Tuan’s condition with the Chinese side online, the communication was professional and smooth, she added.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the council had received an application for Chinese experts to come to Taiwan and the case would be approved as quickly as possible, so that Tuan Tuan could receive better care.
Lai Yen-hsueh (賴燕雪), a chief veterinarian at Taipei Zoo, said Tuan Tuan’s condition is stable, and he still has enough strength to move when he wants.
However, his hind legs are relatively weak and he can only move slowly, Lai said.
Based on Tuan Tuan’s recent clinical manifestations and his response to anesthesia, his doctors halted any further invasive inspections and moved him into palliative care, the zoo said on Wednesday.
At 18, Tuan Tuan has already reached the 15-to-20-year lifespan of pandas in the wild, although they frequently live up to 30 years in captivity.
Tuan Tuan is one of two giant pandas that China sent to Taiwan in 2008. The pandas were four years old when they arrived in the country.
Tuan Tuan and his mate, Yuan Yuan (圓圓) — whose names together mean “reunion” (團圓) in Chinese — had two cubs together: Yuan Zai (圓仔) in 2013 and Yuan Bao (圓寶) in 2020.
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