Prague zoo gets rare Taiwanese pangolins after missing out on pandas
- It’s just the second animal park on the European continent to have the critically endangered animals
- Their arrival follows political fallout with Beijing that prevented the expected arrival of a pair of giant pandas
Prague’s zoo has introduced a pair of critically endangered Chinese pangolins to the public. It is only the second animal park on the European continent to have the animals.
Guo Bao, the male pangolin, and Run Hou Tang, the female, came from the Taipei zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals that are hunted heavily for their scales and meat.
It is estimated almost 200,000 were trafficked in 2019 because of the scales that are used in traditional medicine in Asia and elsewhere.
A few years ago, the Czech capital was expecting to receive pandas after it signed a partnership agreement with the Chinese capital in 2016.
The Czech government recognises the one-China principle, but Prague officials said they wanted to focus on cultural cooperation, not on politics.
Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib said the cities share democratic values, the respect of basic human rights and cultural freedoms and therefore can inspire each other.
Taiwan split from mainland China amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory.
A visit by the speaker of the Czech Parliament’s upper house to Taipei and by Taiwanese government ministers to Prague have been condemned by Beijing.
Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek said he was concentrating on the animals.
“Sometimes, the arrival of pangolins is commented on that they are here instead of pandas,” Bobek said on Thursday. “I do not perceive it quite like that, although of course it is a possible interpretation. For us, they are ambassadors of the wild nature, ambassadors of the pangolins that are still living in the wilderness. The same way, if we were to have the giant pandas here, they would be a symbol of protection of endangered species.”