Shownotes Transcript
Hello! You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites.
I'm Paz Bueno.
And I'm Nancy Sun.
Today's stories… More pets than babies in Taiwan, animals behave strangely during an eclipse, and how much energy can you save by recycling?
Are you ready to find out more?
Here we go!
寵物超越新生兒的數量 Pets Outnumber Babies in Taiwan
Last semester (上學期), we shared surprising news that pets outnumbered babies in Hsinchu County.
Now, this trend (趨勢) has spread across Taiwan!
More people registered their pet dogs and cats than there were babies born in 2023. 2023年，寵物狗和貓的數量超過了新生兒的數目。
Last year, there were 232,196 new registrations for pets compared to only 135,571 babies.
Among these pets, cats were especially popular (特別受歡迎), with their numbers even higher than newborn babies.
Taiwan is becoming a "super-aged society" (超高齡社會) where the number of older people is very high compared to younger people.
This change is affecting many things, including the jobs people do.
For example, there are now more doctors who specialize in taking care of pets (專門照顧寵物的獸醫) than there are pediatricians (小兒科醫生).
In 2023, there were 1,880 doctors for young children in Taiwan.
They worked in 1,048 places that provide medical care for kids.
Meanwhile, the number of veterinarians, or vets, (獸醫) has increased.
There are 5,773 vets in Taiwan, and many of them, about 69%, focus on treating pets (治療寵物).
Most veterinarians work in big cities.
This shows that in cities, more people are choosing to have pets, and they need doctors for them.
Yang Hsiao-po (楊孝柏), who has been a vet for 22 years, says pets are very important for people.
They help make their owners happier and healthier.
He noticed that these days, he mostly treats pets for serious health issues like diabetes (糖尿病) and heart disease (心臟病).
As more people in Taiwan prefer having pets, the number of animal hospitals is expected to grow. 隨著越來越多的台灣人喜歡飼養寵物，動物醫院的數量預計也會增加。
By the end of this year, there might be around 2,000 animal hospitals across the country.
This tells us that pets are becoming a big part of many people's lives in Taiwan!
當動物遇到日全食 How Animals React to a Solar Eclipse
On April 8th, 2024, North America experienced a total solar eclipse (日全食).
This means the moon moved in front of the sun, making it dark during the day for a few minutes.
During an eclipse, not only do people find it exciting…
…but animals also behave in strange ways (出現奇怪的行為) because it suddenly becomes dark.
Long ago, people noticed that animals seemed scared or confused (害怕或困惑) when this happened.
For example, cows might go back to their barns (穀倉), thinking it's bedtime (以為睡覺時間到了).
And birds might stop singing and fall silent (寂靜無聲).
Many different animals act in their own unique ways.
Some get very quiet, like bees that stop buzzing (嗡嗡聲).
Others, like frogs, start making noise, thinking it's night time.
Even big animals like giraffes (長頸鹿) start running around, and then calm down when the light comes back.
Scientists are trying to learn more about how animals react to eclipses. 科學家想了解更多動物對日食的反應。
In a project called Eclipse Soundscapes, they asked people to help by watching and reporting what animals did during the April 8th eclipse.
More than 3,000 people sent their reports!
This will help scientists understand animal behavior better.
In some places, zoos also watched how their animals reacted.
They've found that animals can be quite confused by the sudden darkness.
They might start doing their night-time activities, like settling down to sleep, because they think it's night.
This unusual event (不尋常的事件) gave people a chance to see how nature reacts to changes in light and temperature.
And it teaches us more about the world around us!
So, in today's News Bites…
In Taiwan, more people registered their pet dogs and cats than there were babies born in 2023.
Last year, there were 232,196 new registrations for pets compared to only 135,571 babies.
And there are now more doctors who specialize in taking care of pets than there are pediatricians.
And,
During an eclipse, animals behave in strange ways because it suddenly becomes dark.
Scientists are trying to learn more about how animals react to eclipses.
On April 8th, 2024, North America experienced a total solar eclipse.
Scientists asked people to help by watching and reporting what animals did during the eclipse.
And more than 3,000 people sent their reports!
趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit
When you recycle just one plastic bottle, you save enough energy to keep a light bulb on for 3 hours.
Isn't that amazing?
Recycling doesn't just save energy; it also helps our planet by reducing harmful gases that can change the weather.
So, let's make sure we recycle as much as we can!
If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode!
We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!