Much to wildlife conservationists’ amazement and joy, Taiwan’s largest purple crow butterfly habitat managed to withstand devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot, which battered southern Taiwan in early August.
“A recent field survey shows that the gorges of Seshe and Maolin Ecological Park in Kaohsiung County’s Maolin National Scenic Area [MNSA] — the traditional winter habitat of the special migrating butterfly species — remained mostly unscathed,” Wu Mao-sheng (吳茂盛), director of MNSA Administration, said on Thursday.
Usually the colorful creatures begin arriving in large numbers in Maolin’s (茂林) valleys in November, but this year, the first ones arrived early last month, Wu said.
PHOTO: LEE WEN-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
“The number of wintering purple crow butterflies is expected to be impressive this year, judging from the fact that the number of those arriving in October far surpassed the figure recorded for the same period of last year,” Wu said.
About 400,000 purple crow butterflies were documented in the Maolin valleys last year, volunteers from the Taiwan Purple Crow Butterfly Ecological Preservation Association said.
With the recent drop in temperature in northern Taiwan, volunteers said they expected more butterflies would come to Maolin for wintering this year and that the number could match the previous high of 1 million.
“Usually, more than 100 butterflies will flutter over one’s head in five minutes,” a volunteer said.
As most of the butterflies rest in higher altitude valleys, tourists can only see scattered butterflies within river valleys during sunny mornings, the volunteer said.
In recent years, the MNSA Administration has regularly organized guided butterfly-watching tours to allow more wildlife enthusiasts to admire the insects close up.
Wu said a biennial butterfly-watching program would run from Dec. 12 to March 6.
Mountainous townships in the region, including Maolin, Liouguei (六龜), Taoyuan (桃源), Sandimen (三地門), Majia (瑪家) and Wutai (霧台), were all severely devastated by flooding and landslides.
After being closed to tourists for three months, major pathways in the region have been repaired and paved with asphalt, Wu said.
“While large coaches will still be barred … medium-sized buses, SUVs and compact cars can cruise the area safely,” Wu said.
As a prelude to the biennial butterfly watching festival, Wu said his office would join forces with the Liouguei township office in organizing a drumming event at the township’s Baolai Junior High School this weekend dedicated to survivors in the region.
U Theatre will head a group of hearing-impaired students in performing its signature drum piece, Mandala Dedication, which was performed at the opening ceremony for the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taipei in September.
The program will be named “Drum Wish” as organizers say they hope the sound and rhythm of drumming can encourage typhoon-affected people to regain faith and rebuild their lives and careers.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS