The Formosan black bear Lanihu (拉尼琥) has been found alive and well after the transmitter on his collar set off a distress signal last month, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said yesterday.
The agency’s Taitung branch previously cooperated with the WildOne wildlife conservation association and the local indigenous Kamcing Village (崁頂) to rescue and then release Lanihu, who had been trapped in a snare.
Lanihu is the seventh Formosan black bear to be rescued by the branch.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Taitung branch
After being released into the wild on March 14 last year, his activities were constantly monitored via satellite.
However, last month, the branch received a “suspected death signal” from the transmitter on Lanihu’s collar.
The branch immediately enlisted the help of WildOne and local people to search the mountains for Lanihu.
On the fourth day of the search, a Formosan black bear with an ear tag suddenly dashed across the team’s path.
Shortly after, they found a collar hanging from a tree branch close by.
Although the team was unable to photograph the bear, based on the transmitter’s previous activity and last location, as well as the ear tag, they confirmed it was Lanihu.
The team said they were happy to witness him thriving in the mountains and their worries were put to rest.
The detached collar was found at an altitude of 1,155m in a remote forest with many food sources and Fagaceae trees, the branch said.
The location is likely Lanihu’s stable habitat, as black bear claw marks and droppings were found there, as well as a bear’s den, the branch said.
Lanihu’s tracking data showed that he spent about six of the past nine months in the forests near Kamcing Village, the branch added.
To prevent Lanihu from being caught in a human-laid trap again, the branch immediately informs locals when he is nearby, it said.
Locals responded that they are not too worried, as they see Lanihu as a neighbor and part of the tribe.
Lanihu is mostly active during the day and rests at night, ranging between secondary and natural forests covering a total area of about 123.3km2 and altitudes from 500m to 1,500m, the branch said.
His core activity area is much smaller, covering only 22.2km2, it said.
Indigenous communities are welcome to join the ecological services payment program to promote black bear habitat conservation, the branch said.
Residents who need animal protection can apply to legally set up an electrical fence in exchange for improved hunting tools, helping to prevent the accidental trapping of black bears, it said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS