Despite an alleged sighting last year by Aboriginal hunters, Taiwan’s Formosan clouded leopard has been officially deemed extinct in the wild since 2013.
Next weekend, a talk and a guided tour about the animal will be taking place as part of the exhibit Transcultural Forests of Taiwan: Lrikulau or the clouded Leopard, at Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Lrikulau is the name given to the big cat by the Aboriginal Rukai people, who considered hunting it a taboo.
The talk will take place on Sept. 21, with the topic revolving around the future conservation of the clouded leopard. It will feature renowned zoologist and conservation researcher Chiang Po-jen (姜博仁) and two Rukai cultural workers, moderated by Scientific American deputy editor-in-chief Marine Chang (張孟媛). The talk will be in Chinese only.
Photo courtesy of Future for Clouded Leopard
The tour is in English and will introduce Taiwan’s forest history and culture, indigenous forest etiquette, the wildlife of Taiwan and ecological research on a variety of local fauna, including the leopard cat and sambar deer.
■ The talk is at 2pm at the exhibition space at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, 1, Bade Road, Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號). Visit the following link to register:www.ylib.com/action/signup.asp?actNo=1248
■ The guided tour will take place at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at the exhibition space (by appointment only). To register, go to: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhIfGPdWBiFIINOtuptWtIhLEgBNK1SuqlhwJKER5D2t1_Ig/viewform
■ The exhibition runs through Sept. 28.
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