Nantou County’s Wildlife Rescue and Research Center has treated about 600 wild animals during the first half of this year, nearly 150 of which have been released, while more than 145 are recuperating, Ministry of Agriculture officials said yesterday.
Data compiled by the ministry’s Taiwan Biodiversity Research Center showed that more than 270 of the animals, or about 45 percent, brought to the Jiji Township (集集) facility died, either during transportation or while receiving treatment.
Researchers at the center said that the fatality rate was too high, and, as many animals were injured due to human activity, the public should take care when interacting with wildlife.
Photo: CNA
The largest groups of animals brought to the Wildlife Rescue and Research Center from January to June were sparrows (78) and swifts (54), most of which were hatchlings, agriculture officials said.
Previously, pangolins and leopard cats, the nation’s most well-known protected species, were the biggest groups treated at the facility.
Ministry officials said that the birds’ habitats overlap with regions with human activity, and that the felling of trees or attempts to capture the birds led to injuries during the mating and hatching season.
Hatchlings from destroyed nests are abandoned by their parents, they added.
Veterinarians and animal care specialists are calling for enhanced public education about protecting wildlife, they said.
Other animals brought to the Wildlife Rescue and Research Center for treatment, were pangolins (31), followed by black-faced spoonbills (30) and collard scops owls (30).
The list also included leopard cats (28), masked palm civets (27), Formosan ferret-badgers (25), crested goshawks (18) and black-crowned night herons (17).
The data were the first publicly released figures from the Taiwan Biodiversity Research Center, which until Aug. 1 was known as the Endemic Species Research Institute.
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