Wed, Jun 21, 2023 page3

• Yushan park provides tips on bear encounters

  • By Hsieh Chieh-yu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  The Yushan National Park Administration on Monday provided tips on how to avoid Formosan black bears, after a survey that showed the mountain is the nation’s most important habitat for the threatened species.

  Yushan (玉山) has many features particular to alpine regions, with elevations ranging from 300m to 3,952m above sea level, park officials said.

  These qualities make the park one of Taiwan’s richest nature preserves, especially for the Formosan black bear, they said.

  

  A Formosan black bear and two cubs are captured by a camera set up by the Yushan National Park Headquarters as they search for food at the park’s Tataka area.

  Photo courtesy of the Yushan National Park Headquarters

  More bears have been spotted in the park over the past few years, reaching about 300 as of the agency’s latest survey, they said.

  Formosan black bears are particularly common near Tataka (塔塔加), the Batongguan Traversing Trail (八通關越嶺道), the South Cross-Island Highway and other areas frequented by hikers, park officials said.

  With many people expected to visit the mountain during this week’s Dragon Boat Festival, park officials gave five pieces of advice on how to avoid bear encounters.

  

  Two purple crow butterflies perch on a flower in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times

  First, if they spot a bear from a distance, they should remain calm, avoid startling it and leave the area as quickly as possible, the officials said, adding that it is important not to make any loud noises or large gestures.

  Second, people are advised to carry a bear bell or whistle to deter animals from approaching.

  Third, food must be packaged properly to prevent the smell from attracting bears.

  Do not leave trash or food waste on Yushan to keep bears and other animals from developing the habit of seeking food from humans, they added.

  Fourth, do not bring pets to reduce the risk of transmitting diseases and to protect other visitors, they said.

  Last, visitors who encounter a bear or traces of one should inform the park via its online reporting system at www.ysnp.gov.tw/BlackBearNotification/C004400, officials said.

  In other news, a record number of purple butterflies have been spotted crossing County Highway 200 on the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) over the past few days, the Kenting National Park Headquarters said on Monday, urging motorists to drive slower than 40kph while passing.

  Recent heavy rains in Pingtung County have led to an explosion of milkweed butterfly crossings, with up to 1,200 per minute crossing the highway and more than 100,000 in total, the headquarters said.

  The newly emerged butterflies are traveling north, as they do around May every year in search of sprouting plants following the seasonal rains, it said, adding that many people have filmed them flying south to north along the Pacific coast of the peninsula.

  The main species are Euploea tulliolus and Euploea sylvester swinhoei, it added.

  As they fly at about 20kph, they can easily be crushed by vehicles traveling above 50kph, park officials said, advising motorists to reduce their speed to below 40kph when passing.

  Additional reporting by Tsai Tsung-hsien
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