Taipei Zoo Urgently Seeks Public's Help to Find Missing Lesser Anteater "Hei Niu"

(CNA, Reporter Yang Shu-min, Taipei, 20th) The Taipei Zoo today issued a rare alert seeking help in finding an animal, a nearly 11-year-and-10-month-old female lesser anteater named "Hei Niu." Surveillance footage showed she entered her outdoor activity area on the evening of the 18th. A search involving 65 personnel yesterday and today has not located her, and the zoo hopes visitors will report any sightings. The zoo stated that on the morning of the 19th at 9 a.m., a zookeeper discovered that "Hei Niu" was not in her indoor or outdoor activity area. After urgently reviewing surveillance footage, they found that "Hei Niu" had entered the outdoor area from her indoor space at 6:15 p.m. on the 18th. She was then filmed at 6:55 p.m. passing by the bromeliad garden next to the visitor path before disappearing. The zoo explained that to allow animals to live in a more natural environment and promote behavioral diversity, various plants are grown in the outdoor enclosures. These provide shade to regulate temperature and often become aerial corridors for the animals. After inspecting the site, it was determined that a banana tree in the enclosure may have been climbed by "Hei Niu" and subsequently broke, forming a connection to the artificial rock wall next to the enclosure, allowing her to leave. The zoo said that the lifespan of lesser anteaters in the wild is typically 9 to 10 years. "Hei Niu," a female, is nearly 11 years and 10 months old, making her a geriatric individual. She is about 50 to 60 cm long, with predominantly cream-yellow fur and a prehensile, bare tail on its latter half. She is generally sensitive and timid, and not aggressive towards people, so visitors need not panic if they encounter her on paths or in nearby hills. The zoo urges visitors who spot "Hei Niu" to maintain a safe distance and not to startle, chase, or attempt to capture her, as this could cause the frightened animal to climb to higher, more hidden places. Instead, they should immediately notify a nearby staff member or call the zoo's reporting hotline at (02) 2938-2300, ext. 630 (Visitor Service Center), to have professional personnel handle the situation. The zoo added that lesser anteaters are nocturnal and tend to rest in bushes or hidden spaces during the day, which complicates the search. On the 19th and 20th, approximately 65 personnel conducted a grid search of the surrounding environment, covering areas such as the park's circular road, main axis path, the vicinity of the Tropical Rainforest Area, the route from the rainforest to the Insectarium, and the hilly area next to the Giant Panda House. Six automatic cameras and four trap cages have also been urgently set up around the Tropical Rainforest Area and are being continuously monitored. Patrols and surveillance footage review are also being intensified in hopes of quickly locating "Hei Niu." Additionally, the zoo said that a family of black-crowned squirrel monkeys, also from the rainforest area, also jumped out of their outdoor enclosure today