Clips of a Formosan rock macaque caring for six stray kittens and its maternal actions — especially around Mother’s Day — have drawn significant attention from Taiwanese netizens.
In the clip (https://youtu.be/vrV4gMFu8TM), a monkey dubbed Positi (破四弟) by “father of Formosan macaques” Lin Chin-fu (林金福) — who is known for his years of working to conserve the species — was seen cradling and grooming the kittens.
Positi fought other macaques for food for the kittens and was seen teasing the kittens to sleep like it would a baby monkey.
Photo courtesy of Lin Mei-mei
Formosan rock macaques watch group spokesperson Lin Mei-mei (林美美) said the monkey’s actions are probably related to monkeys’ birthing season, which is under way.
Baby kittens are afraid of the cold and thus have low survival rates in the wild, she said.
With female monkeys starting to take care of their young, Positi is probably imitating their actions, Lin said.
Four of the kittens are now being kept at Lin’s house; one died and another was adopted.
The Shoushan National Park census estimates that there are between 1,100 and 1,400 Formosan rock macaques in the park.
Sipu Junior High School General Affairs Division director Lin Chin-fu (林金福) said the macaques would not have killed the kittens, adding that the kittens were sent to veterinarians for checkups and received clean bills of health.
National park official Hsu Shu-kuo (許書國) said that unless the cats disturbed the monkeys they would remain safe.
Hsu urged local residents not to abandon their pets.
If such abandonment continues, then the population of cats might well become a threat to the macaques natural habitats, Hsu added.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS