A necropsy of a female Formosan black bear found dead last month near a mountain village in Hualien County indicates it had most likely fallen from a cliff and was unable to defend itself from attacks by other wildlife, which led to its death.
No bullet wound was found, nor was there any other trace of bullets, said Forestry Bureau Hualien Forest District Office head Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬), who presented a report on the bear on Thursday, discounting rumors that it might have been shot by poachers or local villagers.
Blood tests also ruled out rabies, canine distemper, canine parvovirosis, canine adenovirus Type I, coronavirus, influenza A and other common viral infections, the report said.
The bear’s carcass was found on March 17 near a chicken coop outside the Lamuan Community, a Bunun village in Jhuosi Township (卓溪), with its lower abdomen torn open and some internal organs missing.
The carcass was transferred to the Animal Health Research Institute in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) for examination.
The necropsy found that the carcass had signs of a fall, severe internal bleeding, a laceration on the right chest and gnaw marks on the lower body, Yang said.
A Forest Bureau team also conducted a field inspection, which found that the ground under a nearby cliff showed traces of debris having rolled down from above, Yang said.
During its fall, the bear likely suffered a blow to its chest, given the laceration and internal bleeding, and was likely in a weakened or unconscious state when other animals discovered it and began to gnaw on it, which led to the bear’s death, Yang said.
Black bear expert Huang Mei-hsiu (黃美秀), who was contacted after the bear was found, thought that the bear might have been lactating and urged bureau officials to search for a cub.
However, the institute’s report said that there were no signs that the bear was lactating and it was not pregnant at the time of death, Yang said.
Forestry Bureau officers and Lamuan villagers stepped up patrols in the area and set up motion-trigger cameras to check for a cub, but no sign was found.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
RSS