2nd Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin Born in Prague Zoo in Less Than 2 Years

A keeper carries a newborn baby Chinese pangolin to be weighed at the Prague zoo, Czech Republic, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A keeper carries a newborn baby Chinese pangolin to be weighed at the Prague zoo, Czech Republic, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
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2nd Critically Endangered Chinese Pangolin Born in Prague Zoo in Less Than 2 Years

A keeper carries a newborn baby Chinese pangolin to be weighed at the Prague zoo, Czech Republic, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A keeper carries a newborn baby Chinese pangolin to be weighed at the Prague zoo, Czech Republic, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A second Chinese pangolin was born in the Prague zoo in less than two years and is doing well, defying the odds and surprising park officials.
The female of the critically endangered mammal was born July 1, the second Chinese pangolin born in captivity in Europe following her sister, Cone, in February last year.
She weighed just 141 grams (4.97 ounces) but was putting on about 10 grams (0.3 ounces) daily and could reach 250 grams (8.8 ounces) this week, the zoo said. Adults can reach up to 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds).
When the park in 2022 received Guo Bao, a male, and Run Hou Tang, a female, from the Taipei zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals, the major goal was just to keep them alive and in good health, zoo director Miroslav Bobek said Wednesday.
“We certainly hoped that we’ll have a baby born one day in the future but absolutely nobody expected that we’ll have two in a year and a half,” The Associated Press quoted Bobek as saying.
The Chinese pangolin is native to southern China and Southeast Asia. It's one of the four pangolin species in Asia, with the others found in Africa. They are hunted heavily for their scales and meat.
The pangolins are difficult to breed in captivity because they require a special feed that includes drone larvae and need a particular humidity and temperature in their enclosure.
Prague became only the second European zoo to keep the species.
The pangolins arrived after Prague decided to revoke a sister-city agreement with Beijing and signed a similar deal in 2020 with the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. The deal caused tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. The agreement included cooperation between the Taipei and Prague zoos.



US Scientists Forecast Above-normal 2025 Hurricane Season

FILE PHOTO: Hurricane Ernesto moves on in the Atlantic Ocean after making landfall on Bermuda in a composite satellite image August 17, 2024.     NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Hurricane Ernesto moves on in the Atlantic Ocean after making landfall on Bermuda in a composite satellite image August 17, 2024. NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
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US Scientists Forecast Above-normal 2025 Hurricane Season

FILE PHOTO: Hurricane Ernesto moves on in the Atlantic Ocean after making landfall on Bermuda in a composite satellite image August 17, 2024.     NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Hurricane Ernesto moves on in the Atlantic Ocean after making landfall on Bermuda in a composite satellite image August 17, 2024. NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

US government scientists said on Thursday they expect an above-normal hurricane season in 2025, producing three to five major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 miles (179 km) per hour.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1, is forecast to produce 13 to 19 named tropical storms with winds of at least 39 mph, according to the US National Weather Service. Of those storms, six to 10 are forecast to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher.

"Warmer sea surface temperatures are probably the major contributor to this," said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service.

Academic and private weather forecasters have issued similar outlooks for the hurricane season, which continues through November 30.

Between 1991 and 2020, there have been an average of 14.4 named tropical storms annually in the Atlantic, including on average 3.2 major hurricanes among 7.2 hurricanes, Reuters reported.

Colorado State University meteorologists said in early April the 2025 hurricane season across the Atlantic basin will be above average, with 17 named tropical storms, including nine hurricanes, of which four are predicted to be major.

AccuWeather issued its 2025 hurricane season forecast in late March. The private weather service calls for between three and five major hurricanes out of seven to 10 hurricanes from 13 to 18 named tropical storms.

The 2024 hurricane season was one of the costliest on record. There were five major hurricanes, out of a total of 11 hurricanes from 18 named storms.