Taipei Zoo to receive two red pandas on Saturday: Officials

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taipei Zoo is scheduled to receive two red pandas from Shanghai Zoo on Saturday under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed at the 2024 Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Taipei officials said Thursday.

In return, Taipei Zoo will send white‑handed gibbons, which are indigenous to South East Asia, to Shanghai Zoo instead of African penguins as originally stated in the MOU, Deputy Mayor Li Yi‑hua (林奕華) told reporters on the sidelines of a Taipei City Council meeting.

Speaking separately, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan‑an (蔣萬安) described the exchange as part of Taipei-Shanghai cooperation.

Chiang said the red pandas are expected to make their public debut after completing a one-month period of quarantine following their arrival.

Shanghai authorities announced earlier Thursday that a handover ceremony for the two red pandas will be held at Shanghai Zoo on Friday.

According to Lin, Liao Wen-ching (廖文靜), deputy head of Taipei's Department of Education, and Taipei Zoo staff will attend the handover ceremony, after which the two red pandas will travel to Taiwan with Shanghai Zoo personnel, arriving Saturday.

Taipei Zoo said the red panda is endangered under international protection agreements, with wild populations declining due to illegal hunting and habitat loss.

The zoo previously noted that its breeding red pandas all come from three family lines, making new bloodlines essential to sustain a healthy population and preserve genetic diversity for long‑term conservation.

As for Taiwan's part in the exchange, Lin said Shanghai's African penguin breeding program is progressing well, prompting both sides to substitute white‑handed gibbons, without specifying how many would be sent.

Lin said a revised MOU has been approved by the central government, and the two sides will now discuss implementation procedures and timelines.