Prague Zoo celebrates birth of second critically endangered Chinese pangolin
The female was born on July 1, the second Chinese pangolin born in captivity in Europe following her sister, Cone, in February last year.
A Chinese pangolin born at Prague Zoo, the second in less than two years, is defying the odds and doing well, officials at the park in the Czech Republic said.
The female of the critically endangered mammal was born on July 1, the second Chinese pangolin born in captivity in Europe following her sister, Cone, in February last year.
In 2022, when the park received Guo Bao, a male, and Run Hou Tang, a female, from Taipei Zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals, the major goal was just to keep them alive and in good health, Prague Zoo director Miroslav Bobek said on Wednesday.
“We certainly hoped that we’ll have a baby born one day in the future but absolutely nobody expected that we’ll have two in a year-and-a-half,” he said.
Pangolins are difficult to breed in captivity because they require a special diet that includes drone larvae and need a particular humidity and temperature in their enclosure.
Prague became only the second European zoo to keep the species.
The deal caused tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. The agreement included co-operation between the Taipei and Prague Zoos.
