Efforts to restore wildlife populations are bearing fruit, with photographs taken from trail cameras confirming the presence of Formosan sambar deer at lower altitudes at Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan.
National Park Service officials provided the photographs following the completion of a two-year ecological monitoring program led by Weng Guo-jing (翁國精), head of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation.
One of the photographs shows a Formosan sambar deer foraging for food on a mountain slope 661m above sea level, a report by Weng’s research team said.
Photo courtesy of Taroko National Park Headquarters
It was the first time in 15 years that a Formosan sambar deer was sighted at such a medium-to-low altitude, it said.
Researchers visited the site and verified, through an analysis of animal droppings, that the deer had been in the area.
A native species of Taiwan, the Formosan sambar deer is protected by conservation laws. The animals used to be found in mountain forests at altitudes of 300m to 3,500m. However, due to habitat destruction and poaching, their population declined sharply and their range of activity became limited.
In the past decade or so, they have only been seen at altitudes of more than 2,000m, park officials said.
Even at that height, few people have encountered the deer, and most of those who have seen them are veteran hikers who gave the animal a new name — Taiwan’s “mountain’s deity beast,” they said.
The photographs indicate that the native deer species have expanded their range of activity to the eastern section of Taroko National Park, although their main habitat remains in high-altitude forests, the report said.
The ecological monitoring program covered 22km2 area — two abandoned mining sites Dacingshuei (大清水) and Hueide (匯德), at altitudes of 500m to 1,500m. The team set up six voice recorders and 30 trail cameras that do not interfere with wildlife activities and start recording or taking photographs when they detect animal movement.
The report also recorded the presence of other protected native wildlife, including Berdmore’s ground squirrel, red and white giant flying squirrel and Formosan giant flying squirrel.
At a wildlife protection reserve at Mount Cingshuei, there had been sightings of Pallas’ squirrels, Berdmore’s ground squirrels, and the two types of giant flying squirrels, as well as audio recordings of Formosan samba deer, it said.
Most wildlife in the park have become more active and chances of seeing them are higher from March to May and September to November, officials said.
Results from the monitoring program are to be used as a reference for the conservation and management of these animals, while the public can read the report online on Taroko National Park’s Web site, they said.
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