Society

Deer, goats from Taiwan to give birth in mainland

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-17 17:07

A pair of spotted deer sent by Taiwan as gifts to the mainland arrives at their new home, the Liugongdao National Forest Park, in Weihai of eastern Shandong Province, April 16, 2011.[Photo/Xinhua]

WEIHAI, Shandong - The spotted deer and goats sent by Taiwan as gifts are expected to give birth to cubs in the Chinese mainland, Jason Yeh, Taipei Zoo director said on Saturday night in Weihai.

The spotted deer Fan Xing and Dian Dian and the goats Xiyangyang and Leyangyang arrived at their new home in Liugongdao National Forest Park, in Weihai of eastern Shandong province Saturday afternoon.

Yeh said the earliest possible date of birth should fall between May and July this year, since the deer couple and the goat couple had been staying together all through their mating time from September to December last year.

"Both Taiwan and mainland residents hope the deer and goats from Taiwan can give birth to cubs in their mainland home," Yeh said.

"It is a good practice to raise endangered species in different geographic zones, which could avoid risks of a certain endangered animal being wiped out by natural disasters."

Both animals are critically endangered species. Yeh said there are about 1,000 such deer living in Taiwan.

To help the animals adjust to their new environment and avoid risks in the process, the pairs of deer and goats will be quarantined for 30 days before being shown to the public.

Two pandas, "Tuan Tuan" and "Yuan Yuan" (together meaning "reunion"), were sent to Taiwan as gifts from the mainland in December 2008.