China invited to help Taiwan’s giant panda with brain disease

China’s famous “panda diplomacy” faces a test after a bear in Taiwan has a life-threatening brain injury.

Taipei Zoo told CNN on Thursday that it had sought help from experts in China to treat its giant panda, Tuan Tuan, after an MRI revealed brain damage.

They are hoping for support in treating Tuan Tuan after he started behaving abnormally, lost his appetite and suffered a three-minute seizure in late August. But the request raises the possibility of a delicate diplomatic balancing act, as relations between China and Taiwan have plummeted since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the autonomous island in August.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory, despite never having ruled it, and has promised to “reunify” it with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.

Since Pelosi’s visit, pressure has increased on the island by holding a series of military exercises on its doorstep.

Now, animal lovers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be watching to see how he responds to the zoo’s request.

A gift of goodwill and a political symbol

Tuan Tuan and his partner Yuan Yuan were offered to Taiwan by China in 2008 as a goodwill gift from Beijing – as part of their long-standing practice known as “panda diplomacy”. But the two animals, whose names combined form the word “meeting” in Chinese, were also one subtle view of the Taiwanese Communist Party.

There have been some signs that Beijing is willing to extend the olive branch. Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Mainland China Taiwan Affairs Bureau, said the Taipei Zoo had notified the Giant Panda Protection Research Center in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, of Tuan Tuan’s condition. And the state-run China Daily reported on Wednesday that experts from China were willing to provide technical support to the zoo and help the animal.

A spokesperson for the Taipei Zoo said it “would greatly appreciate the help”, but added that the Chinese experts “did not specify whether they intend to send experts here this time”.

The spokesperson said that previously, “both sides have cooperated closely to care for the giant pandas” and “exchange knowledge regularly.” “In the past, when the panda gave birth, they also sent experts to help us,” the spokesperson added.

Since being gifted to Taiwan, Tuan Tuan and her partner Yuan Yuan have given birth to two cubs, one in 2013 and one in 2020. In a statement, the zoo said Tuan Tuan was “recovering under observation behind the scenes” and that it was “Need to wait for all test results before clarifying the cause [de sua doença]”.

The average lifespan of pandas in the wild is 14 to 20 years, but they can live much longer in captivity, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. Tuan Tuan turned 18 in August.

In July, the world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity, named An An, died in captivity in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park. He was 35 years old.

In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature updated the species from “endangered” to “vulnerable” after its population grew by nearly 17% over the previous decade.

This move was mirrored by the Chinese government last year after the wild giant panda population swelled to 1,800. Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, but after years of decline, their numbers in the wild have increased in recent years.