Red Pandas from Shanghai Zoo Arrive in Taiwan for Quarantine Period

Two red pandas from the Shanghai Zoological Park in China arrived in Taipei on June 6, 2026, as part of a cross-Strait animal exchange. The pair, consisting of one male and one female, has been transferred to the Taipei Zoo, where they are now undergoing a mandatory quarantine period.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua stated that the animals must remain in quarantine for one month before they can be integrated into the zoo’s general population.

The transfer follows a handover ceremony held in Shanghai on June 5, 2026, after which the animals were flown to Taiwan. According to reporting by The Taipei Times, the exchange is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed in 2023 during the Shanghai Twin-City Forum.

The current agreement was the result of renegotiations between the two cities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an explained that the original terms of the 2023 memorandum involved trading the red pandas for black-footed penguins from Taiwan.

However, the Shanghai Zoo later determined that its existing black-footed penguin population possessed adequate genetic diversity, making the acquisition of penguins from Taipei unnecessary. The two cities renegotiated the terms of the exchange, with Taipei agreeing to send white-handed gibbons to Shanghai instead.

Mayor Chiang stated that these types of animal exchanges are intended to promote the breeding of various species and enhance genetic diversity.

This event represents the first animal exchange between Taiwan and China since 2014, when the Taipei Zoo received red pandas from Fuzhou.

The newly arrived red pandas have not yet been given names. Mayor Chiang noted that the local government is open to suggestions from the public regarding the naming of the pair.

The Mayor expressed his anticipation for the public to meet the pandas at the Taipei Zoo as soon as the quarantine process is complete.