“Every kind of animal has its own natural grace, its own dignity. Life has diversified into myriad kinds, each living in its own forthright yet mysterious way upon the earth. Life was not formless like smoke, but had a pattern and a posture.” — THE STOLEN BICYCLE (單車失竊記)
Her Excellency, Ambassador Šiška — the first pangolin to be born in Europe — is the cherished daughter of two Taiwan-sourced Formosan pangolins now housed at Prague Zoo. Her birth was guided from inception to delivery by “our ‘friends on the phone’ at Taipei Zoo,” says Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo director. Named after the Czech word for “pine cone,” the pangopup turned one year old last month and is now past her weaning stage after a difficult start requiring formula cat’s milk, an ingenious solution devised by Taiwanese researchers after Šiška’s mother wasn’t producing enough milk.
On Feb. 2 last year in Prague, Šiška was born to Run Hou Tang (“Cough Drop”) and Guo Bao (“Fruity Treasure”) through a pangolin diplomacy program that began with then-Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib’s 2019 Taipei visit. The much-anticipated arrival of the pangopup stems from strong nurturing by Prague Zoo (“David [Vala, Run Hou Tang’s caretaker] had a special little bar made for her and taught her to lean on it with her front legs, so she could undergo an ultrasound examination”) and years of pangolin conservation efforts by Taiwanese experts including Taipei Zoo.
WHEN IT WAS KNOWN AS MARUYAMA ZOO (1914–1945)
Taipei Zoo started as a private menagerie boasting 9 species in 1914; its initial location at Taipei’s Yuanshan district was chosen by its founder, a Japanese man surnamed Oe (大江氏). It was soon taken over by the colonial government as Taiwan was ruled by Japan then, and became an unforgettable sightseeing destination for first dates, family outings, and graduation trips. Maruyama Zoo (圓山動物園), as it was known during the Japanese colonial era, held memorial services for deceased caged animals, then for fallen soldiers and war beasts like horses as well when World War II raged on.
By 1943, the imperial command of beastly killings (猛獸處分) was given to execute large creatures that were kept in captivity across the Japanese empire. At Maruyama Zoo, that meant lions, tigers, leopards, bears, grizzlies, and wolves (獅子、虎、豹、熊、羆、朝鮮狼). Taipower provided the means of electrocution. The Japanese authorities claimed they could no longer afford to feed most zoo animals when food was scarce at wartime, and beasts perceived as the most dangerous were first culled in case they ever broke free during the air raids of WII. Others claim it was foremost a form of psychological warfare, then an austerity measure.
“The lions, tigers and bear were used for meat, divided up among the city aldermen and a few high-ranking officials. Nobody in the zoo was willing to eat that meat.
The bear meat was reportedly so hard nobody could swallow it. Lion meat was barely edible, but had a strong taste. That was why the animals were electrocuted rather than poisoned with spirit of strychnine, to preserve the meat. No waste in wartime!” — THE STOLEN BICYCLE
In the name of science, pelts were preserved, carcasses dissected, and meat distributed for consumption following the mass murder of zoo animals. Upon the Nationalist takeover of Taiwan in 1945, those that survived the culling at Maruyama Zoo (圓山動物園), now pronounced Yuanshan Zoo (圓山動物園) in Mandarin, were greeted with the gaunt challenge of enduring starvation during the chaotic wake of the Feb. 28, 1947 incident and the brutal military crackdown that followed.
WHEN IT WAS KNOWN AS YUANSHAN ZOO (1945–1986)
By 1959, Yuanshan Zoo (formally stylized as Taipei Zoological Garden and managed by the Taipei City Government under the Nationalists) received its first giraffe. Thousands wrote to “Miss Giraffe” and suggested names for her. “Sadly though, Lu Yuan’s (鹿苑) days were numbered. Some well-meaning visitors tried to lure her across with some food, leading her to slip and fall on wet ground, and resulting in her early death,” according to Taiwan Panorama in 1991.
The bilingual magazine also noted how captive animals were subjected to cruel teasing by zoo-goers with darts, rocks, and cigarette butts. One man jumped into the tiger enclosure in seek of a fight, while zoo-breakers at nighttime in search of exotic food would “regard animals purely as a walking dinner.” Swan meat was billed as a delicacy. During the 1950s, beef meant for the lions were sometimes taken home by employees as well, even though some captive beasts were fed meat that “research institutes had done experiments on.”
Then there’s this tale of how the zoo’s first set of seals were illegally captured at the Cape of Good Hope by two Taiwanese sailors: “Before leaving South Africa, a local policeman they had befriended found out, and demanded that the seals be set free. Instead, they hid the creatures on board, and when it came time to set sail, the same man wished them well, saying: ‘Take good care of them. They’ll have a good life in your country too.’”
WHEN IT BECAME KNOWN AS TAIPEI ZOO (1986 — TODAY)
On Sept. 14, 1986, an “Animal Relocation Parade (動物搬遷大遊行)” set off from Taipei’s urban Yuanshan area to the mountainous Muzha district. A total of 38 vehicles including cop cars, flag-bearing automobiles, and 20 trucks carrying caged animals made the 14.3-kilometer journey to their new home. CNA reported 200 to 300 thousand citizens turned up to the homecoming party. Rock Records even released a song titled “Happy Heaven (快樂天堂)” in commemoration of the event.
On Oct. 31, 1986, it reopened in Muzha as Taipei Zoo, carrying more animals than ever before. Animal performances were discontinued. The public learned how to behave around wildlife and respect enclosures. The zoo that celebrates its 110th anniversary this year became a sanctuary for wildlife conservation and rehabilitation. Apart from its top-tier pangolin breeding program, Taipei Zoo also takes care of Black Sugar (黑糖), an Asian black bear that starred in Taiwan auteur Ang Lee’s 2012 epic “The Life of Pi,” and runs a retirement home for elderly bears.
This retirement facility is equipped with extra sunning ledges, additional steps, and breezy windows to accommodate senior citizens with achy joints and dim sight. While they have an average lifespan of 25 years in the wild, some timeworn ones under Taipei Zoo’s care are 26 years or older, the equivalent of 70-some years in human age. Hsiao-hsiung (小熊), meaning “petite bear,” was humanely euthanized last week at the age of 34 amid hind-leg mobility loss, spinal bone spurs, and intervertebral disc disease.
Hsiao-hsiung was rescued as a cub that was put up for sale on the side of a road on Alishan. Taipei Zoo also nurses injured pangolins — gentle, solitary creatures that are notoriously fickle to rehabilitate. “For 30 years, the most frustrating rescue experiences lie with the Formosan pangolins,” stated Taipei Zoo Director Jason Shih-chien Chin (金仕謙) in 2017, for during the first decade of the program, “all of the salvaged Formosan pangolins, whether badly hurt or not, did not live longer than half a year. Among the most common causes of death were anorexia, gastrointestinal bleeding and severe anemia.”
Pangolins were once classified as fish and were known as “scaly carp (鯪鯉)” — pronounced “lâ-lí” in Taiwanese — for their carp-like body shape and because they were covered in scales like fish. In Taiwan, they’re endangered mainly by poachers capitalizing on demand for pangolin meat and scales (traditional Chinese medicine), stray dog attacks, and widespread habitat loss.
The climate crisis is another driver of pangolin displacement, with flash floods washing away these ground burrowers and damaging their homes. In one case, “a pangolin was found in the ocean” after heavy rainfall, according to a 2017 report compiled by Taipei Zoo in partnership with Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau and the Endemic Species Research Institute. Those who survive the deluge often have to “forage further afield [for food], exposing them to additional risks.”
Taiwanese researchers have since developed a wireless tracking system for wild specimens to learn more about pangolin ecosystems, physiology, and reproduction. Their base model predicts that there is a low risk of extinction over the next century here because wild populations in Taiwan, “on average, are relatively stable in size, retain high levels of genetic variation with little inbreeding, [and] have the ability to recover from severe short-term decline.”
There are eight pangolin species across the globe and collectively they are the most-trafficked animals in the world. To ensure the survival of this sub-species endemic to Taiwan, “The 2017–2027 National Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for Formosan Pangolins, Manis p. pentadactyla” has a specific milestone to achieve within the next 18 years:
“By 2042, everyone is aware of and values the Formosan pangolin and is willing to work together to properly protect its habitat and maintain its viable population, based on adequate knowledge, so that pangolins can live in harmony with human beings.”
Conservation efforts by Taipei Zoo led to the first successful breeding — defined as “conception and parturition in captivity” — of the Formosan pangolin in December 1997. He was named Chuanpan (穿胖), meaning “Fatty” by combining the first character of the Mandarin word for “pangolin (穿山甲)” with the adjective for “fat (胖),” as a token of his caretakers’ hope to see him grow plump and content. Fatty, whose parents were rescued from the wild circa 1995, is the great-great-great-grandfather of little Šiška in Prague.
BY THE WAY
· “The Stolen Bicycle (單車失竊記)” is written by Taiwan novelist Wu Ming-yi (吳明益) and translated from Mandarin by Darryl Sterk (石岱崙). It won the 2015 Taiwan Literature Award and was longlisted by the Man Booker International Prize in 2018. Read an English sample here.
· A 24-meter-tall bio-dome shaped like its namesake, the newly opened Pangolin Dome at Taipei Zoo contains a miniature but lush rainforest to provide habitats for small mammals, birds, and fish. There’s also a beautiful lagoon stocked with giant Arapaimas from South America, but no actual pangolins. For a glimpse of Šiška’s extended family, head for the Formosan Animal Area.
· Taipei Zoo has a rather adorable and elaborate naming scheme for the pangolins under its stewardship. Her lineage includes:
♂ — Chuanpan (穿胖)
♂ — Chuanqi (穿七)
♀ — Chuanbei (穿貝)
♀ — Pipagao (枇杷膏)
♀ — Runhoutang (潤喉糖)
♀ — Šiška (小松毬)
· In celebration of our planet’s biodiversity, the 12 animals that make up Taipei Zoo’s centennial logo in 2014 are:
00 Pangolin
01 Taipei frog
02 Formosan Flying Fox
03 King Penguin
04 Formosan Black Bear
05 Reticulated Giraffe
06 White Rhinoceros
07 Formosan Serow
08 Burmese Star Tortoise
09 Koala
10 Asian elephant
11 Western Lowland Gorilla
12 Lion
Happy 110th birthday, Taipei Zoo!
