Taipei Zoo to hold 1-year commemoration for dead panda Sunday

Taipei, Nov. 17 (CNA) Taipei Zoo will hold a commemorative event on Sunday to mark the anniversary of giant panda Tuan Tuan's (團團) death, the zoo said in a statement Friday.

Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰), director of the Taipei Zoo, said a video featuring Tuan Tuan and related pandas will be played from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Visitors are also invited to write blessing cards to mark one year since the 18-year-old giant panda died from gemistocytic astrocytoma on Nov. 19, 2022, Chen said.

Taipei Zoo said it had preserved Tuan Tuan's bones and fur and frozen its sperm and fibroblasts following the panda's death.

Meanwhile, the zoo said it was in the process of registering taxidermist Lin Wen-lung's (林文龍) work on Tuan Tuan's remains in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act.

The zoo added that it planned to open an exhibition highlighting endangered species, such as giant pandas as well as gorillas and pangolins, in the first half of next year.

According to Chen, Tuan Tuan's unique physiological structure and scientific research materials will be displayed in the future in a themed building for use by researchers and educators.