The habitat of the protected Formosan sambar deer has expanded over the past few years and now includes areas at lower altitudes, with the species more often spotted outside the mountainous areas it had long been forced to reside in due to human activity, the Endemic Species Research Institute said.
The Formosan sambar is Taiwan’s largest herbivore and originally lived at altitudes of about 300m, but it was forced into more mountainous areas — generally above 2,000m — due to hunting and destruction of its natural habitat, the institute said.
Since 2011, automated cameras have been set up at altitudes ranging from 1,100m to 2,635m by the Tengzhi Research Center to capture their activity, said Tsai Chi-feng (蔡繼峰), an assistant researcher at the institute.
The institute’s research has found that the deer are now more commonly seen below 1,600m and are rarely spotted above 1,800m.
Although the deer appear to be moving to lower areas, it is not clear whether their population has increased, Tsai said.
In Taiwan, low altitudes are defined as areas below 1,000m, medium-low altitude is 1,000m to 1,500m, and 1,500m to 2,500m is mid-altitude, he said.
The introduction of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) in 1989, which banned hunting of the deer, and the establishment of the Central Mountain Range Conservation Corridor have helped the Formosan sambar flourish, the institute said.
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