Increased contact between humans and Formosan macaques in the Shoushan (壽山) area of Kaohsiung’s Gushan District (鼓山) might be increasing the risk of life-threatening diseases jumping species, a National Pingtung University of Science and Technology report said.
The report was commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior’s National Nature Park Headquarters for its Project to Monitor Taiwan Macaque Populations and Research Macaque-related Disease and Health.
Incidents of macaques jumping on people are likely prompted by increased contact, as the monkeys have learned that interacting with people is one way to obtain food, said Su Hsiu-hui (蘇秀慧), an associate professor at the university’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation.
Photo courtesy of the National Nature Park
However, such interactions could cause diseases to be transmitted both ways, or lead to conflict between people and macaques, Su said.
Humans and macaques share a common susceptibility to many kinds of diseases, including Cercopithecine herpesvirus (CHV-1), dengue fever and amebiasis, said Chen Chen-chih (陳貞志), a professor at the institute who heads the project.
The infection rate among adult macaques for CHV-1 is about 100 percent, Chen said, adding that human-macaque contact increases the risk of people being exposed to a deadly virus.
The macaque population in the Shoushan area has been under high pressure, possibly due to increased population size and increasing contact with people, he said.
Incidents of conflict between people and macaques have been rising, the park headquarters said, citing an incident last year in which a visitor to the area was bitten by a macaque that jumped onto their back.
Faced with such a situation, people should keep calm and move slowly toward a tree so that the monkey would be inclined to jump either onto the tree or the ground, the park said.
People should refrain from waving their hands or other actions that the animals might perceive as aggressive, it said.
Shoushan is a natural habitat of Taiwanese macaques and people should avoid contact with them, including by feeding or provoke them, it said.
People who contravene rules against contact with wildlife face a fine of NT$3,000 as stipulated by the National Park Act (國家公園法), and NT$5,000 to NT$10,000 under the Kaohsiung City Autonomous Act on Wildlife Conservation (高雄市野生動物保育自治條例), it added.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against