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

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Prague’s zoo has introduced the pair of pangolins to the public. Photo: CNA

Published: 9:16pm, 19 May 2022

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.

The arrival of the rare acquisition from Taiwan follows a political fallout with Beijing that prevented the expected arrival of a pair of giant pandas.

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.

The pangolins came from the Taipei zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals. Photo: CNA

A few years ago, the Czech capital was expecting to receive pandas after it signed a partnership agreement with the Chinese capital in 2016.

But those hopes came to an end just three years later when Prague decided to revoke the sister-city agreement with Beijing, an action that angered China.