Taipei Zoo’s panda website crashes under wave of curiosity

TAIPEI - A website set up by the Taipei Zoo for the two pandas given to the island by China crashed as too many Taiwanese tried to catch a glimpse of the two cute animals, zoo officials said Thursday.

‘On Wednesday, the number of clicks on the Panda website surged from 17,000 on Tuesday to 37,000, causing the website to crash. We have asked the Taipei City Government to repair it and to enlarge the servers’ capability,’ zoo spokesman Chin Shih-chieh told reporters.

The two four-year-old pandas, named Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, meaning ‘reunion’ in Chinese, were given to Taiwan people by Chinese President Hu Jintao. They arrived in Taipei in a chartered jet Tuesday afternoon.

The two pandas are adapting to conditions at their new home extremely well, Chin said.

The Taipei Zoo is holding a news conference every morning, and issues two news releases each day, to report on the condition of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan - their sleep, body temperature, amount and varieties of their food, and the amount of their droppings.

The ‘Pandamania’ caused by the animals’ arrival continues as the Taiwan public waits anxiously to see Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan with their own eyes after a one-month quarantine.

On Thursday, the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system launched carriages painted with pandas.

The Chunghwa Post Co plans to issue a set of stamps Jan 23, when Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan make their debut at the Taipei Zoo.