By Avie Shuai Yuan-Zai (圓仔) is the first giant panda born in Taiwan. She was born on July 6th, 2013, to parents Tuan-Tuan (團團) and Yuan-Yuan (圓圓). Taipei Zoo held a vote and the Taiwanese were the ones who named her. Since Yaun-Zai was born, her cute chubby body and various adorable gestures have captured people’s attention. She soon became the most popular topic in Taiwan. Many merchants have introduced new products with panda images and made great profits. Some people claim that she has the magic of curing one’s heart. Some think that her struggle to sit, stand, and walk has encouraged them. And some consider her the most appealing creature in the world. She now lives happily with her parents in Taipei Zoo. The Zoo has launched a project to allow people to follow her online. A condensed video is broadcast every day on the Taipei Zoo channel on Youtube. What’s more, Yuan-Zai will be on display for the public beginning in February. From Yuan-Zai’s case, we can have deeper insight into giant pandas. Giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) have been living in the southern and eastern parts of China for the past 300 million years. It is an endangered animal and its main habitat is now the Sichuan province. After World War II, China sent out pandas in order to build official diplomacy and maintain good relationships with other countries. Between the 1950’s and the 1970’s, twenty-four pandas had been sent to countries as gifts. In 1982, however, China proclaimed that Panda Diplomats would cease in response to a call to protect domestic endangered animals. China began to build conservation areas and lent pandas to other countries. These acts benefited China’s image and generated much profit. However, great profits also drove people to catch pandas illegally and caused a lot of damage to the environment. China permanently stopped lending out pandas in the 1990’s. Since then, it only given eight pandas to its close friends, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Taiwan received Tuan-Tuan and Yuan-Yuan in 2008. In short, throughout these decades, pandas have successfully conveyed the friendly image of China and drew people’s attention to East Asia.
However, there are many other issues involved. When the public focuses solely on pandas, other endangered species will get less recognition. There are in fact 592 endangered species listed in the China’s official publication on the subject, including kangaroos, bats, dolphins, tigers, wolves, birds and various types of monkeys, apes, and gorillas. Other animals will be ignored and won’t have the chance to obtain adequate protection. The same situation has taken place in Taiwan. We keenly anticipated the arrival of Tuan-Tuan and Yuan-Yuan, and the Zoo spent a lot of money in preparation. The Zoo spent approximately NT$ 95 million between 2005 and 2008, one-third of their annual budget. In 2009, the Zoo devoted 20% of their budget to the pandas. Currently, NT$ 2 million is annually spent on Yuan-Zai. More than half the news releases from the Zoo are related to pandas. Pandas are crowding out resources for other animals. Some people have begun to stand up on behalf of the other overlooked animals. In 1999 two koalas came to the Zoo and people were so crazy about them that more than 6 million people came to see them. Within five years, another four koalas were brought into Taiwan and again in 2011. But this time only a few people noticed. Even when their new-born babies were on display earlier this year, little news was released. We should pay more attention to other animals. When you are at Taipei Zoo, don’t forget to pay the koalas and other exhibition halls a visit. Or when viewing Yuan-Zai’s live show, don’t forget to click on other adorable animals’ videos as well. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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