A short film shot by a local wildlife research team featuring a Formosan black bear in its natural habitat was screened on Monday, thrilling bear enthusiasts.
A professor from National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County, Wu Hai-yin (吳海音), and a team of researchers came across the bear on May 20 as they were conducting a field survey along a mountain trail in Yushan National Park’s Walami-Dafen area, park rangers said.
The film was shown at the Yushan National Park Administration office in Nantou County.
PHOTO COURTESY OF YUSHAN NATIONAL PARK ADMINISTRATION
“This marked the first time in recent memory that researchers have managed to capture dynamic images of this rare animal on a mountain trail in the park,” said Su Chih-feng (蘇志峰), a section chief at the park administration.
The researchers were quoted as saying that they did not disturb the shy animal when they spotted it because they were walking quietly along the Walami Trail.
Hiding themselves in trees and bushes, the researchers shot the bear’s movements from about 10m away.
BUMP IN THE NIGHT
The four researchers stayed overnight in a Walami mountain hut and heard an animal wandering outside, but did not see it when they left the following morning.
Su said the Walami-Dafen region has been a center for research on the Formosan black bear, which is an endangered species.
The park administration has spared no effort over the past decade in helping with research on the Formosan black bear by catching and tagging the animals and installing automated video equipment in their habitats, Su said.
Researchers hope to learn more about the endemic animal species, whose survival is threatened by poaching and habitat encroachment.
OTHER EVIDENCE
A research team from National Pingtung University of Science and Technology took pictures from a distance of a mother bear leading two cubs through a river in the Dafen area in January, Su said.
Earlier this month, Su said some park rangers detected fresh bear dung in a Walami hut and that some tourists also reported to the administration that they spotted fresh bear dung at a bridge near the start of the mountain trail, indicating that the animals are thriving in the region.
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