Issued on: 20 Jan, 2009
Description: The left is Tuan Tuan, and the right is Yuan Yuan.
Having previously issued “Cute Animal Series Postage Stamps—Lesser Panda” on April 25, 2007, Chunghwa Post is following up with a set of two stamps and a miniature sheet featuring the giant pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, which were offered as a gift to the Taipei Zoo by China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. The stamp featureing Tuan Tuan is denominated at NT$5.00 while Yuan Yuan is denominated at NT$9.00. The miniature sheet is denominated at NT$25.00.
The giant panda is a charming and adorable animal. It has a face of a cat and a chubby body of a bear. At birth, it weighs only 50 to 160 grams and its body appears reddish, bare and shiny. It is reared by the mother alone. It will become independent from its mother when it reaches 18 months. A grown-up panda is stout. It is about 160 to 180 centimeters in height when standing up straight, and it weighs about 80 to 125 kilograms. The fur around its eyes and on its ears, limbs, chest and back is black, and the fur on the rest of its body is white. The black and white of its coat provides a stark contrast. It has thick skin and fur, and is not afraid of the cold. Bamboo is the giant panda’s main food source. It uses its sixth toe on its paws to grasp poles of bamboo. Currently, wild populations of pandas exist only in China—in the Sichuan Basin of Sichuan Province and the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province. As a result of various factors, a low fertility rate, excessive hunting, destruction of habitat, and the lowering of genetic diversity, the wild population has rapidly dwindled. Yet, with growing consciousness about conservation and the concerted efforts of many, it is currently well protected.
繼96年4月25日發行之「可愛動物郵票—小貓熊」，本公司續以大陸海峽兩岸關係協會致贈臺北市立動物園之大貓熊團團、圓圓為主題，發行「可愛動物郵票—大貓熊」1組2枚及小型張1張，分別為大貓熊團團（面值5元）、圓圓（面值9元）及小型張（面值25元）。
大 貓熊臉形有點像貓，身體則酷似熊，是一種深具魅力、人見人愛的動物。牠出生時體重僅約50至160公克，身體呈肉紅色，裸露光亮，由母貓熊單獨撫育，18 月齡方離開母親獨立生活。成長後體型圓胖碩壯，站立起來高約160至180公分，體重約80至125公斤；眼周、耳朵、四肢、胸及背為黑色，其餘部位為白 色，體色黑白對比明顯，毛皮粗厚，不懼寒冷。大貓熊以竹子為主要食物，牠的手掌多了一個偽拇指，用以掌握竹莖。現今野生大貓熊僅生長在中國大陸四川盆地與 陜西秦嶺一帶。由於生育力低，且曾面臨濫捕、棲地破壞及遺傳多樣性降低等問題，致使野生種群數量銳減。目前在保育意識抬頭及各界努力下，受到完善的保護。
I haven't seen them yet. Maybe one day I will.
Source of the materials: Wikipedia
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