Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-15
By: CNA and Staff Reporter
A zoo in southern Taiwan said Sunday it has reached an agreement with a zoo in China to
Sika deer at Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung. (File photo/Lin Hsiu-li)
exchange a pair of Formosan sika deer for two giant pandas.
The Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung will give two of its sika deer to the Chengdu Zoo in southwest China’s Sichuan province, said Chuang Hsuan-chih, director of the zoo.
In return, the Chinese zoo will gift two of its pandas to Shoushan Zoo, Chuang said.
The exchange is expected to enrich the diversity of species at Shoushan Zoo, which has been seeking to do so but has been limited by its funding and space.
The zoo, which attracts around 1 million visitors each year, said it is hoping to attract private investment to expand the zoo complex.
Shoushan Zoo expects it will be at least two years before the exchange can take place, due to the complex process and paperwork.
Taipei Zoo received two pandas from China in 2008, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. The pair produced a cub in 2013 named Yuan Zai, which has become the zoo’s star attraction.
