The Formosan black bear population in Yushan National Park is in danger from poaching and mutilation, the Formosan Black Bear Conservation Association said.
Association honorary president Hwang Mei-hsiu (黃美秀), who is also the director of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology Institute of Wildlife Conservation, said the association observed the danger using automated cameras that monitor the bears.
The cameras were set up with funds from the association and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Hwang said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association
The photographs captured an amazing amount of wildlife activity in mountain areas 2,000m above sea level, Hwang said.
Hwang said the association first saw a bear that was mutilated — with one of its paws cut off — in October last year, adding that they saw photographs of another bear whose right-front paw only had one claw remaining.
The association said the cameras were set up in national parks, adding that not only are the areas well removed from tourists, the surrounding area also showed no signs of illegal hunting.
Judging from the wide habitat for the bears — more than 10,000 hectares, which includes territory outside of national parks — the association said it is possible that illegal traps have been set outside of park areas.
The traps pose a significant threat to the bears, the association said, calling on both the public and the government to empathize the issue and prevent such traps from being used.
It is possible bear paws have been removed for Chinese medicinal remedies or to be eaten as a delicacy, the association said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS