HEADING FOR MAINLAND

It's an emotional day for the Taipei Zoo staffs, who have officially said their goodbyes to two Formosan serows and two Formosan sika deers. As a symbol of strengthening the ties between the two sides, the animals will be moving in to their new home in China's Shantong Province.

At 6 a.m. on Saturday, a team of zoo workers began preparing a pair of Formosan serows and a pair of Formosan sika deer for their journey.

The serows' caretaker since birth, Huang Shu-kuan, quietly stood to one side as the animals were loaded onto a truck. As the vehicle drove away, Huang waved and said that he felt like he was marrying off his daughter.

The truck carrying the animals and another filled with feed drove directly to Taoyuan International Airport to catch a 10 a.m. flight.

The flight was scheduled to land in Shandong at 1 p.m., after which the animals would transfer to a truck and then to a boat before finally arriving at Liugong Island National Forest Park.

To prevent nerves and indigestion during travel, the animals were only given nutritional supplements from noon the day before.

Because neither Formosan serows nor Formosan sika deer are listed on the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a delegation of caretakers was not required to travel with them to China.

However, special housing has been constructed at Liugong Island National Forest Park for the animals, and their arrival in Shandong marks the first successful exchange of animals between Taiwan and China.

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