Published at 04:00
Two red pandas from China have moved into a zoo in Taiwan. It is the first animal exchange between the countries in over a decade.
The red pandas – one female and one male – will be quarantined for a month before being put on public display. In exchange, Taiwan will send gibbons to Shanghai, according to the Taipei Times.
The last time Taiwan received red pandas from China was in 2014. The new exchange comes amid deep tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which views self-governing Taiwan as part of China.
China’s program to loan mainly giant pandas to other countries is described as “panda diplomacy”. It has long been seen as a way for Beijing to exercise soft power.
Red pandas are also called cat bears and live wild in bamboo forests in the southern Himalayas. The species is highly threatened.
