By MOOK Travel Life Network, reported and compiled by Chen Guanxin
The giant panda cub “Round Baby” at Taipei Zoo has recently been the center of attention, becoming the zoo’s star baby. However, the zoo has also recently welcomed a giraffe calf and a koala joey, whose cute appearances are in no way inferior to “Round Baby.” Netizens are taking advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday to bring their whole families for an adorable mini adventure. The zoo will be closed on January 30 (New Year's Eve), but in response to the early opening of the panda house, it will open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM daily from January 31 (Lunar New Year’s Day) to February 4 (the fifth day of the Lunar New Year).
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The adorable appearance of the koala joey has drawn gasps of amazement from visitors of all ages. (Photo source / Courtesy of Taipei Zoo official website)
Round Baby, who made her first public appearance earlier this month, continues to grow. Her activity space has expanded from the maternity ward, nursery, outdoor enclosure, to Exhibition Area A. Taipei Zoo provides a variety of equipment to offer “Round Baby” different training grounds at each developmental stage. Since giant pandas sleep about 70% of the time, regardless of where she is, “Round Baby” spends most of her day sleeping. The rest of the time, besides interacting with her mother, she explores her surroundings and builds up her muscle strength. As a result, the zoo continually introduces new training toys to encourage “Round Baby” to explore and exercise across different facilities as she grows.
As for the giraffe “Wheat,” born on July 24 last year and soon to turn six months old, she is the seventh offspring of giraffe mom “Changxiao” and dad “Juzhong.” Since giraffes give birth standing up, “Wheat” dropped about 1.5 meters into the world. Within half an hour of birth, she successfully stood up on her own and has since stayed close to her mother.
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Round Baby is the most popular star at Taipei Zoo. (Photo source / Courtesy of Taipei Zoo official website)
The zoo plans to integrate “Wheat” into the group when she is around six months old, so she is gradually being introduced to her older sister “Qilinmei” or second sister “Niuniu” to slowly get used to group life. Despite weighing 239 kilograms, she still looks like a mini giraffe standing next to her mother and sisters. If the integration process goes smoothly, visitors can see “Wheat” joining her mother in the giraffe family and making her official debut during the Lunar New Year.
In addition, three little koalas that have recently emerged from their mothers’ pouches at Taipei Zoo are now a great opportunity for observation. Koala House No. 1 is a family-friendly area—see if you can spot the little koalas.
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The adorable Wheat may meet everyone during the Lunar New Year. (Photo source / Courtesy of Taipei Zoo official website)
Empress, Tiwi, and Coral — three koalas that came to Taipei Zoo from Australia — have given birth to two offspring in a row. Now, the right side of Koala House No. 1 is home to Empress, her eldest daughter Emily, her second daughter (not yet named), and Nicole (Tiwi’s eldest daughter). The left side houses Tiwi and her second joey. Tiwi’s joey entered the pouch on June 16 last year, and on January 7, 11, and 17, it was observed starting to eat supplementary food — its mother’s soft feces.
Koala House No. 2 is the males' dormitory, housing Patrick, Flyenn, Q Bi, and Q Di. Since Koala House No. 1 is currently a family zone, Grandma Pearl has temporarily moved to House No. 2. Winter vacation and Lunar New Year are perfect times to visit the zoo to observe koala parenting.
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