Visitors to cabins in Yushan National Park should take their trash and leftovers with them when leaving the park to avoid changing the foraging habits of Formosan black bears, Yushan National Park Headquarters said on Thursday.
The office said that it found tracks and upended waste bins near Paiyun Lodge (排雲山莊), Lulin Lodge (鹿林山莊) near the Tataka area (塔塔加) of the park and at a research station near the Nantzuhsien River (楠梓仙溪) on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday last week.
The office contacted National Pingtung University of Science and Technology professor Huang Hsiu-mei (黃秀美), one of Taiwan’s premier experts on Formosan black bears, to identify whether the tracks were left by bears, and Huang confirmed that they were, office Deputy Director Lin Wen-ho (林文和) said.
Some of the trash that had spilled out of the trash cans had bite marks on it, Lin said, adding that it included leftover instant noodle bowls, fruit peels and leaf wrappings for zongzi (粽子, glutinous rice dumplings).
The waste was probably left by travelers hiking around Lulin Lodge, she said, adding that eating instant noodles is a popular way among hikers to “warm up” during cold weather.
“We suspect that the black bears were drawn to the area due to the strong smell of instant noodles,” Lin added.
The Formosan black bear is active in a wide area across the mountains of Hualien County, but is rarely seen in the Tataka area, which is in the northwest of the park, Lin said.
It is the first time in the three decades that he has been at the park that definitive proof of black bear activity in the Tataka area has been found, Lin said.
The office said that it recommends eating in the Tataka area’s cafeteria area or other designated areas.
Visitors should take waste and leftovers with them, the office said, adding that if visitors find black bear footprints nearby, they should contact the nearest park official or Tataka police.
When there are bears nearby, it helps to make noise while walking, stay in groups, leave the terrain before nightfall and refrain from bringing pets, the office said.
If visitors see a bear from a distance, they should not alert it to their presence, the office said.
If the bear notices visitors, they should be careful not to make noise and back away at a brisk pace, it said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS