Taipei - More than 2 million people have seen the two giant pandas given to Taiwan by China since the animals' arrival in December 2008, the Taipei Zoo said Tuesday. "So far we have recorded 2.25 million visitors. The number of visitors varies from 2,000-3,000 per day on a normal day and 10,000 per day on a holiday," zoo director Jason Yeh said.
Yeh said the two pandas, who are the stars of the zoo, have adapted well to life in Taiwan, except for the hot and humid climate.
"They enjoy eating Taiwan bamboo and apple and carrot, but are afraid of the hot weather, because in the Sichuan mountains where they live, it is very cool and even snows sometimes," he said.
"Nowadays they remain inside the air-conditioned Panda Hall, because if the outside temperature is above 25 degrees Celsius, when the caretaker opens the door to the open-air display areas, they refuse to go out," he added.
As the two pandas are 5 years old, Yeh said he hopes that they can mate and give birth to a cub.
The two pandas were given to Taiwan by Chinese president Hu Jintao to improve ties between the two sides, split since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
The pandas carry political symbolism as China named them Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan - tuanyuan means reunion in Chinese - a likely hint that Taiwan and China should reunify.
Giant pandas are among the rarest animal species in the world. More than 180 giant pandas live in captivity around the world, and about 1,590 remain in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, China.
