Baby boom at Taipei Zoo lightens COVID-19 pandemic blues

Taiwan's largest zoo has celebrated a flurry of births in recent months - including pandas and pangolins - in a welcome boost during a visitor slump due to the coronavirus. | Two Asian small-clawed otters at the Taipei Zoo.

Human footfall to Taipei Zoo may have dropped this year but officials have been kept on their toes with an animal baby boom that has just kept coming. | A mother with her baby koala at the zoo.

Formosan serows, Eurasian otters, jackass penguins, koalas, marmosets and black-capped squirrel monkeys have all added to their ranks since the beginning of 2020. | Formosan serows at the Taipei Zoo.

"We are very lucky this year with successful breedings from many international cooperation projects with our partner zoos and aquariums in Europe and Southeast Asia," Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao told AFP. | A mother panda keeping her cub by her mouth at the zoo.

Tsao said he hoped the spate of new arrivals will help raise conservation awareness among the public. | A baby koala at the zoo.

"The role of a zoo has evolved from collecting exotic animals in the last century to carrying the responsibility to help prevent the extinction of endangered animals," he said. | A cotton-top tamarin at the Taipei Zoo.

"The zoo has to play an important part to maintain a safe population for the endangered species under its care... in the hope that one day they can return to their natural habitats." | A black-capped squirrel monkey carrying its son at the Taipei Zoo.

Black-capped squirrel monkeys waiting for food at the Taipei Zoo.