The female of a pair of Formosan pangolins borrowed by the Prague Zoo from the Taipei Zoo earlier this year for a breeding project is pregnant, the Czech zoo said Tuesday.

If the four-year-old “Run Hou Tang” gives birth successfully, its offspring will be the first pangolin bred in Europe, according to zoo director Miroslav Bobek.

The due date is sometime between mid-December and mid-January, Bobek said, calling the animal an ambassador of wild nature and that the delivery “would be a fantastic Christmas gift.”

According to Bobek, Run Hou Tang and her partner “Guo Bao,” which arrived in the Czech Republic in April, started to live together in June after finishing quarantine.

A recent ultrasound scan and blood test had shown that Run Hou Tang is pregnant, after an earlier check in August, he said.

The Prague Zoo is the second zoo in Europe to host pangolins from Taiwan, after Zoo Leipzig in Germany.

Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao (曹先紹) has said that the loan of the two pangolins to the Prague Zoo was aimed at creating a breeding network in Europe.

After ditching sisterhood ties with Beijing in October 2019 over a “one China” provision, Prague forged sisterhood ties with Taipei in January 2020, opening the way for the pangolin breeding program.

Upon learning of Run Hou Tang’s pregnancy, Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib said he was pleased to see the sisterhood between Prague and Taipei bear such rare fruit.

“It means that the pair is doing well in the Prague Zoo, enjoying a romantic environment,” he said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel