"Once we brought in a siamang gibbon for a routine medical check," says Yang Chien-jen (楊健仁), chief of the animal department at the Taipei Zoo. "It was jittery and obviously having a bowel-control problem. No wonder! We found seventeen coins in its stools."
Although "Don't Feed the Animals" signs are a fixture in zoos everywhere, visitors oftentimes find it difficult to resist opportunities to share their leftover lunch or snack food with a boisterous monkey, a pacing bear, or a graceful tern. But the problem is especially serious in Taipei, because the populace is generally less knowledgeable about the dangers of such practices, and because so many visitors come to the zoo—it has drawn over 3 million visitors annually since 1989. After a couple of hundred people pound on the cage windows of a high-strung serval cat, it is literally climbing the walls.
While administrators are delighted by the attendance figures, they are not satisfied. Their ultimate goal is to do more than entertain visitors. Chen Pao-chung (陳寶忠), the zoo's deputy director, says: "We're already a great success as a tourist attraction, but we would also like to teach our visitors more about wildlife conservation. We not only want them to learn about wild animals, we also want them to learn the importance of protecting and conserving them."
Situated in Mucha, south of the city, the Taipei Zoo covers an area of 172 hectares, 90 of which have been opened to the public since January 1987. There are a total of 2,600 animals representing 317 species, with sections devoted to Formosan, African, Australian, nocturnal, and desert animals. A waterfowl area and a butterfly aviary are the zoo's most popular attractions. Rounding out the facilities are an animal medical center, a picnic and recreation area, an administration center, and various workshops and support buildings. When completed in 1996, the zoo will also have an aquarium and sections for rain forest, prairie, and polar animals.
The original zoo was built in 1915 on a six-hectare site at Yuanshan, in northern Taipei, during the Japanese occupation of the island (1895-1945). By the 1970s, the facilities had become overwhelmingly cramped. The animals were kept behind iron bars in small, antiquated cages. In 1973, land was acquired in the then relatively undeveloped district of Mucha. The animals were moved to the new location in 1986.
The Mucha site has open space in abundance, which is one reason for its popularity. It is the perfect place for families to get away from the crowded city and relax in quiet, spacious surroundings. Nestled among hills, it is bisected by small valleys and streams.
The zoo designers sought to make the most of the area's topographical variety—and in one case the wildlife assisted in the plans. Chen says that the waterfowl area, a narrow valley with a creek flowing through the center, was originally designated for the Asian animal section. But after the creek was dammed to create an artificial lake, wild mandarin ducks and other migratory birds soon began arriving. "It turned out to be the perfect natural habitat for waterfowl, and this gave us the idea of selling up a waterfowl observation area," he says. "We trimmed the wings of some of the waterfowl already in our collection and transferred them to the area. The birds couldn't fly away, and they attracted others."
A fence was built along the lake to prevent the birds from being disturbed, and every afternoon the staff puts buckets of fish by the lake. Visitors can watch the birds feed from designated observation areas. The birds put on a good show year round. Depending upon the season, around six hundred land birds and waterfowl come to feed, including large numbers of cattie egrets, green-winged teals, and spot-billed ducks.
One of the most popular and unique zoo facilities, its butterfly aviary, had a rougher beginning. Taiwan straddles the Tropic of Cancer and is the native haunt for butterflies of both temperate and tropic zones. There are about four hundred species of butterflies on the island, fifty of them endemic. As a result, Taiwan has an international reputation as a "kingdom of butterflies." To better inform the public about these natural wonders, the zoo set up a butterfly aviary and a two-hectare butterfly garden. The 540-square-meter greenhouse-like enclosure was planted with host plants for caterpillars and nectar-producing plants for butterflies.
Unfortunately, shortly after the aviary was finished, it became a Lepidoptera graveyard. Instead of seeing swarms of butterflies in flight, visitors saw them dying in droves. "The building's structure had many problems," says Chen Chien-chih (陳建志), chief of the butterfly aviary. The greenhouse would have been fine in the temperate zone, but it was not particularly well-suited to Taiwan's hot and humid climate. Inside temperatures were often too high. There were a number of structural problems as well. Pillars were set too close to windows and formed narrow cul-de-sacs where butterflies were easily trapped. Unable to extricate themselves, they cashed in their wings.
Zoo workers moved rapidly to solve the problems. First, a row of windows were placed along the bottom of the building so fresh air could circulate more easily. A sprinkling system was installed to cool the building, and nectar-producing plants were planted along the walkway to attract the butterflies to where visitors could see them more easily. The death-traps were also eliminated. The improvements were successful, and the butterflies are now beginning to thrive. "But on rainy days, butterflies won't fly, even indoors," Chen says. "Some visitors complain that we can build a house for butterflies, but we still can't make them fly. It's really hard to please everyone."
The Taipei Zoo is Asia's largest, and its designers tried to create the best possible environment for the animals. Instead of cramped, dirty, neurotic animals pacing back and forth in small cages at Yuanshan, the new animal pens are spacious areas planted with trees and shrubs from the animals' native habitats. In this way, they can be observed in a more natural setting. But many visitors complain about the large pens. "Some of them are very deep," Chen points out, "and the animals often hide among groves of trees. But people want to see lots of animals up close. They remember going to Yuanshan and seeing the caged animals."
The better living environment has been good for the animals, however, leading to an increase in births. The Formosan macaques, Formosan skia deer, Anubis baboons, Bactrian camels, serval cats, tigers, and leopards have all reproduced at a surprising rate. In the African animal area where several kinds of animals dwell together, the elands have multiplied to such an extent that they are about to over-whelm the other animals. "Since elands are polygamous, we now separate males and females," says Tsai Hui-ying (蔡惠瀛), chief of the veterinary division. The hippopotamuses have also been prolific and there are now more than the zoo can handle. "There is not enough space in the ponds. They fight fiercely for territory," adds Tsai.
One solution to this problem has been animal exchanges. Last year, a pair of Formosan gem-face civets were sent to the Singapore Zoo and a tiger to the Malabon Zoo in Manila. The Negara Zoo in Malaysia is also discussing the possibility of exchanging animals with Taipei. "Through the exchange of animals, constant inbreeding, which leads to inferior stock, can be avoided," says Tsai.
The zoo staff is also trying to repopulate local habitats that have been cleared of wildlife by hunters, trappers, and developers. One example is the Formosan skia deer, a native species. It was once found throughout the island, but a decade ago became extinct in the wild. The Taipei Zoo has bred ninety of the deer and, with rangers from Kenting national park, has reintroduced the species into the wild. In 1985, Kenting park officials received twenty-two skia deer. They were observed for five years to collect information on their behavior, eating habits, and preferred environment, then they were released into a special 120 hectare preserve within the park. Today there are more than one hundred deer at the park.
Although the zoo staff has done its best to create a healthy environment for wild animals, and has worked hard to conserve them, the job by no means ends there. A large portion of their time focuses on people, developing educational methods and materials to explain the importance of wildlife conservation. Staffers are finding that they have to start with the basics since there is little understanding of wildlife conservation. In fact, there is a lengthy tradition to the contrary. Chinese cuisine, especially for special occasions, oftentimes utilizes exotic ingredients—and the rarer or more difficult to find, the more desirable for the table. One list of the best of the best from times past, called the "eight precious foods" is, in ascending order of the butterfly aviary. The greenhouse would have been fine in the temperate zone, but preference, stir-fried cicada, bear paw, gorilla lips, barbecued owl, carp tail, panther fetus, phoenix bone marrow, and dragon liver. While most of these items are not carried by the ordinary market (and some are the stuff of myth), the list indicates an orientation toward exotic ingredients that puts endangered species at a disadvantage.
Since the Wildlife Conservation Law was passed in 1989, the government has stressed the importance of raising public awareness, especially given Taiwan's reputation for being one of the biggest players in the world trade in endangered species. It is believed, for example, that Taiwan is the destination for much of the poached African black rhino horn, traditionally used in Chinese medicine to help improve male virility. Tang Hsiao-yu (湯曉虞), section chief of Council of Agriculture, says: "In 1987, there was an incident—which grew to international proportions-when a tiger was killed for human consumption. Many people think that the Chinese are barbaric and eat everything from endangered species to man's best friend. We hope visitors to the zoo can develop a more enlightened attitude about animal conservation. It is an educational institution."
Judging from the behavior of some visitors, who jam the zoo on weekends, the educational programs are badly needed. In many respects, the cages protect the animals from the visitors rather than the other way around. "We work hard to arrange the best environment for our animals," says Yang Chien-jen. "But we also need more cooperation from our visitors. Usually the maltreatment of animals results from ignorance. For instance, visitors show their friendliness toward the animals by feeding them junk food, so the animals will often end up sick after a weekend."
In the nocturnal and small animal house, maltreatment of animals by visitors is a common occurrence. The animals in this facility would normally sleep in the daytime and search for food at night, but by using an ultraviolet light system, they can be made to believe it is night so people can observe their activities. Most nocturnal animals are quite nervous and skittish by nature, so the zoo has provided a well-monitored and controlled environment. The whole facility is aerated by a central ventilation system and the temperature is kept between 22-25°C. The problem comes with visitors. "Many of them like to strike the windows to frighten these animals, which are already very high-strung," Chen says.
Visitors also throw stones, coins, and even plastic soft drink bottles at animals to wake them up or just to tease them, without realizing that they are abusing them. Deputy zoo director Chen Pao-chung says: "Basically, I think our visitors like animals. They just need to develop a better attitude toward them. Worse yet, it has become trendy to raise wild animals as pets, which is very inhumane." When owners get tired of their exotic pets, the zoo usually inherits them. "People like to raise wild animals," says Tsai Hui-ying. "They may be cute when they are young, but they may become dangerous after growing up."
The staff is currently handling a typical case. A gibbon was abandoned by its owner after the ape bit him. The animal was first given a tuberculosis test, then put in the zoo's isolation ward. After it passed blood and feces exams, it was sent to the display area. But Tsai says that a new animal may be rejected by the other animals. For example, monkeys, one of the most popular wild pets, have their own group hierarchy, and an outsider will be subjected to bullying. "It's like each monkey has its own seat," Tsai says. "A newcomer has to find a place for itself. If we keep accepting these abandoned animals, raising wild animals at home will become more rampant. Owners will assume they can always give them to us if they cause too much trouble."
The long process of quarantine for abandoned animals also adds to the staffs work. Two years ago, the spread of tuberculosis among Formosan skia deer forced the adoption of strict quarantine measures. It was suspected that the spread of TB resulted from adopting some abandoned animals that were carrying the disease.
To make zoo visits as educational as possible, volunteer guides are being recruited and trained. The program was begun ten years ago, and each year approximately 120 people donate their services. Wang Hu-cheng (王虎城), a 63-old retired army officer, started as a volunteer nine years ago. "Being a guide, you have to know everything," he says, "such as the difference between a monkey and an ape. The job can be immensely fulfilling, but it can also be frustrating at times. Showing primary school kids around is especially tough. It requires a great deal of energy just to keep their attention focused. But they are often more responsive to what we are saying than adults are. The frustrating part of my job comes when I work hard to explain things, and people complain because they don't want any information. They say they're not here to attend class."
Zoo administrators structure some of the educational activities around Chinese culture. For example, according to the lunar calendar, this year is the Year of the Monkey, so many special activities are focusing on the primates, explaining the different species, their habitats, and their characteristics and habits. "We really hope the residents of Taipei can make full use of our resources," says Yao Chung-chih (姚重志) of the zoo's education department. "Generally speaking, people come here to have a good time. They don't expect to receive any hard information. It's our job to see that they have a happy, but also a fruitful visit."
Most of the visitors are parents with children aged six or younger. To target kids, the staff set up a children's zoo. Children can hold and pet animals like goats, rabbits, geese, ducks, and chickens. This is the only contact that many urban kids have with animals. It is a great learning experience, especially when they have the opportunity to watch staff members in the nursery as they care for baby animals. Other activities such as animal art workshops, theaters, and animal shows have been programmed with great success. While adults may be slow to change their views about wildlife, kids can start out with enlightened attitudes from the beginning.
Unfortunately, schoolteachers can be less than enthusiastic about arranging field trips to the zoo. To encourage schools to use the facilities, the staff started a one-day study trip for fourth graders. In the morning, they are shown slides and listen to an expert talk about some of the animals. In the afternoon, the students, accompanied by their teachers, walk around to look at the animals they have learned about in the morning briefings. Although the students seem to enjoy themselves, teachers do not like being guides and feel that there is no substitute for books. Old ideas are hard to overcome, but the zoo staff does not give up easily. In the near future, they will be offering teachers a special training course, which should help boost their enthusiasm about leaving the classroom more often.
On a more specialized educational level, the zoo also serves as a resource for scientists and university students. Chi Chun-chen (紀純真), for example, did much of her graduate re search at the zoo. Her thesis for the department of zoology, National Taiwan University, focuses on the social behavior pat terns of Formosan macaques. Observation of the macaques in the wild is difficult because they live in rugged mountainous areas and are very shy. "With forty macaques, the zoo helped a lot," Chi says. "I had a good chance to observe their behavior up close."
In conjunction with private conservation groups, the zoo also sponsors a host of educational programs for the general public. In July of this year, for example, the staff worked with the Orangutan Foundation and the Beautiful Taiwan Foundation to hold a two-day campaign on wildlife conservation and recycling. Animal lovers were asked to bring their recyclables to the zoo and see a number of free exhibits on endangered species and the importance of recycling. The proceeds went to help the Orangutan Foundation establish a shelter for abandoned wild animal pets. Through such educational and public service programs, zoo administrators intend to promote different public attitudes toward animals. And with a better understanding of the necessity for protecting the world's wildlife, perhaps more people will want to preserve species instead of serving them for dinner. "Hopefully, through visiting the zoo," says deputy director Chen, "people will start to respect animals."