The Yangmingshan National Park Management Office was on Jan. 12 fined NT$3.96 million (US$139,378) in damages to be paid to four descendants of a woman surnamed Chen (陳), who was on Aug. 11, 2018, attacked by a water buffalo in the park and died 15 days later, the Taiwan High Court said.
The then-86-year-old Chen was walking along a path in the Qingtiangang (擎天崗) area when a grazing water buffalo in heat attacked her.
Chen’s sons and daughters accused the national park office of mismanagement and failing to maintain the park’s facilities to keep visitors safe, as the incident leading to Chen’s death was preceded by multiple incidents in which water buffaloes had injured visitors.
Photo courtesty of the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
The office had installed ropes and wooden posts along the paths to prevent visitors from wandering off, the court said.
The office was aware that the visitor safety measures were not sufficient, as it exchanged the wooden posts for concrete ones and replaced the rope with stainless steel wires after the incident, the court said.
The office said that as the buffaloes are wild animals, it is not responsible for any incidents involving them and visitors.
It had placed signs in the area to warn visitors to keep their distance from wildlife, the office added.
It had also dispatched regular patrols along the paths, and did its best to maintain and manage facilities in the park, it said, adding that it was not responsible for Chen’s death.
Citing park records on the replacement of the wooden posts and the ropes, the court said that the office was aware that the posts were not stable enough and that the buffaloes often accessed the path.
Referring to other incidents in which visitors were injured by water buffaloes, the court said that the office knew that its measures were not adequate to keep visitors and wildlife in their respective areas.
National park spokesman Chang Shun-fa (張順發) yesterday said that the office is still in talks with lawyers regarding an appeal against the verdict.
Referring to a series of deaths of water buffaloes in the area that strongly diminished their population, Chang said that wildlife experts have warned that Qingtiangang is no longer suitable for the buffaloes.
The office is also discussing the possibility of resettling the animals in areas with a climate that is better suited for them, Chang added.
Additional reporting by Hsu Yi-ping
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