The Yushan National Park Administration has advised motorists to drive slowly when visiting the park amid eased epidemic prevention measures, as wildlife have become used to empty mountain roads.
National parks including Yushan (玉山) have been closed for nearly two months since a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert was implemented on May 19.
The closure has greatly reduced traffic in the park, allowing animals to use the roads at their leisure, park administrators said.
Photo courtesy of the Yushan National Park Administration
Macaques and pheasants especially enjoy lingering on roadways, and have grown accustomed to the relative absence of vehicles, they said.
There have already been instances of macaques, snakes, reptiles and even small birds being killed by vehicles, they said.
By the end of May, administrators said they had already received a report of an adolescent macaque being hit by a vehicle.
However, the easing of measures on Tuesday has left park administrators concerned about increased traffic.
The Central Epidemic Command Center on Thursday last week announced the conditional opening of certain quality-of-life activities and venues, including national parks, which can operate at 40 percent capacity.
Since even larger animals have been hit, administrators said they are concerned about tour buses returning, as drivers and animals would be unprepared.
The park administration urged motorists to drive carefully when in the park and stay alert for wildlife.
When encountering a wild animal, administrators advised visitors to keep their distance and refrain from offering food, as animals such as macaques might become aggressive.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS