Prague Zoo celebrates as Taiwan-linked Formosan Pangolin cub turns 1

Prague, July 20 (CNA) Connie, a Formosan Pangolin born to Taiwan-gifted parents in Prague Zoo, Czech Republic, celebrated her first birthday on Thursday.

The cub was born in July 2024 to a pair of pangolins sent from Taipei Zoo in 2022, making her the second Formosan Pangolin cub to be born in Prague Zoo since her sister Šiška (pine cone) was born in Europe in February 2023.

Prague Zoo spokesperson Filip Mašek shared that both Šiška and Connie are "healthy and well," with the older sister having fully matured, and Connie still about a year from maturity, weighing 2.6 kilograms compared to a typical mature female's weight of 5 kilograms.

The pangolins have both transitioned to eating bee larvae pulp -- a "secret recipe" for mature pangolins developed by Taipei Zoo, said Mašek, adding that the feed takes zoo workers an hour to prepare every day.

Describing the nocturnal species as "delicate," he told CNA that sophisticated climate control systems are installed due to their sensitivity to temperature and humidity.

He noted that since pangolins have poor sight, they may mistake people around them for trees and try to climb their legs, which is "cute but potentially deadly" since they can easily contract and die from human diseases.

"We need to be extremely careful," he said.

Regarding the future of the zoo's pangolins, Mašek said that since there is no male that Šiška can mate with, they may send her to the Vienna Zoo, where they are planning to build a "pangolin house."

Mašek explained that pangolins are special because they are the only mammals with scales, and there are eight species across Asia and Africa -- all currently listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to poachers targeting their meat and scales.

The notion that pangolin scales possess "unique healing effects" has no scientific proof since they are formed with keratin, which is also found in human nails, Mašek said.

Yet, the mistaken belief has put pangolins under tremendous threat from poachers seeking their scales due to mistaken beliefs that they have medicinal effects, he said.