A breeding pair of pods will inhabit the Indonesian Jungle exhibition at the Prague Zoo. This was stated on social networks by the mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates). The donation is part of the cooperation between the two metropolises, which signed a partnership agreement last year.

“The Luskou couple we have promised for our zoo from the partner city of Taipei is slowly preparing for a trip to Prague,” Hřib said on his Facebook page. He added that the only zoo in Europe so far breeds legumes.

According to the mayor of Prague, the female Run Hou Tang and the male Gun Bao will be on display in Prague. But according to Hřiby, Praguers could come up with nicknames for scales. “The Luskou couple already have names, but it would be great if we could give the new couple at least some nice Czech nicknames. We will vote soon on the Prague Portal, “he said on social networks.

The previous Prague team, led by Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO), sought to borrow a panda from China; in 2016, the city also concluded a sister agreement with Beijing. The agreement contained a controversial clause that Prague recognized the unity of China. The then leadership also defended the signature by stating that the Beijing article was conditional on the lending of a panda. However, it was not possible to bring a panda from China.

The current city leadership, led by Hrib, wanted to remove the disputed article from the agreement with China, which Beijing refused. Before Prague subsequently terminated the contract, the other party did so. Last January, Prague signed a sister agreement with the metropolis of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of China and is threatened with military intervention if independence is declared.

The pod is a scaly mammal that feeds on ants and termites. This species is now on the verge of extinction and is one of the most frequently smuggled animals. The most legumes are traded in China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ranks all eight Asian and African legume species among endangered species. An estimated one million individuals of this species have been caught in the last ten years. The reason is that members of some traditional Asian and African cultures attribute healing effects to legume scales. The scales are supposed to help with skin problems, arthritis and asthma, for example. But these cone-like mammals also love each other because of the meat. Some Asians consider it a luxury delicacy and a symbol of wealth and higher social status.

The Prague Zoo, together with the zoos in Olomouc and Ostrava, is one of the main partners in the Trenggiling Conservation Program (TCP). Among other things, it aims to reduce the illegal trade in island legumes through the education of the people of Sumatra and to build a rescue and rehabilitation center for legumes. The legume rescue program is sponsored by the Indonesian PASAL Foundation, which was founded in 2017 by Czech nature conservationists.