Formosan macaques can be aggravating for farmers. Aside from endangering people in mountainous areas, the flatland regions of Yunlin County’s Douliou City and Linnei Township have also frequently been ravaged by monkeys this year. The macaques are injuring tourists by scratching them and there is often news of groups of macaques behaving aggressively toward women and children if they are alone. Agriculture agencies in Yunlin County have launched a monkey-catching campaign.
Tourists oftentimes feed macaques along Provincial Highway No. 3 in Linnei Township and occasionally get attacked. Episodes of monkeys breaking into abandoned houses to look for food often occur, which is keeping local residents in a state of constant fear. Local agriculture officials recently used tranquilizer guns to tranquilize a macaque that they assumed was the leader of the group, releasing him back into the wild in a mountainous area. The move seemed to produce a temporary terrifying effect — the group of macaques disappeared for several days. In recent days, however, local government officials discovered that the macaques returned, making the monkeys a constant source of irritation.
The Douliou City Office says that this particular group of macaques appeared after several cold fronts hit at the beginning of the year. Tourists throw food along the road for them and an elderly woman in the area often feeds them fruit and vegetables, ostensibly making the Chukou Village area the living quarters for as many as 40 to 50 monkeys — a major nuisance for local residents. Workers from the county government and local city offices have been dispatched on a number of occasions and used firecrackers to drive away the macaques. As soon as the officials leave, however, the monkeys return.
Photo courtesy of the Yunlin County Government Cultural Affairs Department
照片由雲林縣政府文化處提供
Besides incidents of macaques attacking humans in Linnei, monkeys in Douliou City’s Sankuang Borough broke into a house once, jumping between the balconies and hitting the windows. The area surrounding the Yunlin County Government Cultural Affairs Department has nominally become the territory for several macaques. They move along the utility cables, often vandalizing orchards and chicken coops in the area. The Yunlin Agriculture Department has come up empty handed on several occasions when it tried to catch the monkeys.
Agriculture Department veterinarian Lin Pei-yi says that macaques are quite clever and cunning. Macaques vanish into thin air as soon as they see groups of humans, she says, adding that on one occasion when she was walking in the area alone, they saw her by herself and started making ferocious faces and violently shaking the trees to provoke her.
Douliou City Office veterinarian Lee Tsang-hai says that in recent years the Forestry Bureau has provided funding to drive out the macaques, using an array of firecrackers, including whistling firecrackers and bamboo canons. It has had a limited effect on the intrepid monkeys and impelled them to move down to the flatlands instead. Some people have suggested capturing them and tying their fallopian tubes, while others have suggested allowing a limited degree of hunting, similar to what Australia has done with kangaroos and England with rabbits. A conclusion has yet to be reached as to which method would be the most effective.
Photo courtesy of the Yunlin County Government Cultural Affairs Department
照片由雲林縣政府文化處提供
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
讓農民恨的牙癢癢的台灣彌猴不只危害山區,雲林縣斗六市、林內鄉平地今年紛傳猴群入侵,除有遊客遭抓傷,還頻傳猴群挑釁落單婦孺情況,縣內農政單位已展開「抓猴」大作戰。
台三線林內鄉因有遊客餵食猴群時遭抓傷,也常傳出猴群闖入空屋覓食情況,嚇得附近民眾提心吊膽,公所農政人員日前以麻醉槍射昏一隻疑似「猴王」的猴子,並送往其他山區野放後,似乎有短期「恐嚇」效果,猴群失蹤多日,但公所人員最近發現猴群又返回,為此頭痛不已。
公所指出,這群彌猴年初接連多波寒流後出現,由於有遊客路過時會順便丟食物,附近又有一名阿婆常帶著水果、蔬菜前來餵食,觸口附近最後幾乎已成為猴群居住地,多達四、五十隻,對居民造成困擾,縣府、公所多次派員以鞭炮等方式驅趕,但總是人員一離開,猴群就返回。
除了林內,斗六市區也傳出「猴害」,三光里曾有猴子闖進民宅,在陽台跳上跳下,還拍打窗戶;縣府文化處附近目前也成為三、四隻彌猴「地盤」,牠們沿著電線活動,附近的果園、雞舍頻遭破壞,但縣府農業處多次圍捕均無所獲。
縣府農業處獸醫林佩羿說,獼猴很聰明、狡猾,看到人多,往往不見蹤影,有次她獨自前往,獼猴見她一人,面露猙獰、抱著樹狂搖挑釁。
斗六市公所獸醫李滄海說,近幾年林務局補助山區驅趕,用笛聲炮、竹管炮等炮竹,猴子根本不怕,效果有限,甚至反而促使猴群往平地移動,有人建議捕捉結紮,也有人建議學習澳洲袋鼠、英國野兔做法,適度開放獵殺,但何種方式有效,目前仍無定論。
(自由時報記者黃淑莉)
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc. B: That’s just outrageous! A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty. B: The buyers and sellers should both be punished heavily. A: But the porn sellers’ Web sites are mostly overseas, so they are hard to catch. A: 此外警方也在黃子佼的硬碟裡,查到7部他買的未成年色情片。 B: 真是令人火大! A: 他的前女友小S等人,還呼籲修法,加重相關的罰則。 B: 購買者和販賣者雙方都該重罰。 A: 不過色情網站大多設在海外要抓也不容易吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
A: Entertainer Mickey Huang’s #MeToo scandal has kept snowballing. B: Didn’t Huang just escape prosecution on several sexual misconduct charges due to a lack of evidence? A: He has now been accused of raping a woman identified as "Miss K." B: It’s like one trouble follows another! A: His decent “persona” in the showbiz has totally collapsed. A: 藝人黃子佼的#MeToo事件真是沒完沒了。 B: 他的性騷擾案不是因為證據不足獲得不起訴? A: 但他又被某位「K小姐」指控性侵。 B: 天啊,真是一波未平,一波又起! A: 他在娛樂圈的優質「人設」都崩壞啦。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the development of the cordless jump rope, this is __2__ the case. The cordless jump rope is an innovation in the fitness industry that has gained popularity in recent years. As its name suggests, it doesn’t have a cord connecting the two handles. Instead, each handle features a short cord with a
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most