The culprit in the mysterious disappearance of chickens from a farm in Nantou County’s Lugu Township (鹿谷) was reportedly a female leopard cat, the first time the animal has been seen in the region, local residents said.
On Wednesday, a woman surnamed Chen (陳), who owns a chicken farm, said that the declining chicken population on her farm — from 60 to 6 — over the past two years led her to suspect poachers, although the feathers and bones left behind pointed to wild animals.
Chen apprehended the felon and the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute identified it as a leopard cat, which is a protected species in Taiwan, she said.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu, Taipei Times
The leopard cat, estimated to be one year old, was in good health and only showed signs of a previous injury on its front left paw, ostensibly the result of hunting in the wild, the institute said.
Township representative Kang Chun-yu (康峻瑜) urged residents to step up protective measures at chicken and duck farms.
Harming a leopard cat contravenes the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), Kang added.
The institute said it has recorded fewer than 500 leopard cats, adding that 21 leopard cats have been injured in claw traps since 1994 and 67 killed by vehicles since 2011.
The data highlight the challenges to leopard cats’ survival in the wild, the institute said.
Nantou is considered a leopard cat habitat, with the biggest populations in Jiji (集集) and Jhongliao (中寮) townships, it said.
It said it would collaborate with the Forestry Bureau’s branch office in Nantou this year to survey the leopard cat population in the county.
The survey would cover the area from Lugu (鹿谷) to Jhushan (竹山) townships in the south up to Guosing Township (國姓) and the mountainous areas around Caotun Township (草屯) in the north, the institute said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
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Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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