A species of giant bat of which only a few isolated members had been seen in Taiwan in the past 30 years is not as close to disappearing in Taiwan as conservationists had feared, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
A group of the creatures, which have a wing span of up to 1m, has been found on remote Turtle Mountain Island (龜山島) in Yilan County.
The bats, with the scientific name Pteropus dasymallus formosus, are some of the largest in the world and are commonly referred to as Formosan flying foxes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FORESTRY BUREAU
Until recently, some conservation experts had believed that the flying foxes had died out in Taiwan, as no specimens had been seen in the wild for a period of almost 30 years stretching from 1976.
A breakthrough came in 2005, when a team led by the council’s Forestry Bureau in conjunction with researchers from Taipei Zoo found three isolated specimens on Green Island (綠島).
The discovery prompted a renewed search for the giant flying mammals.
COA Conservation Division director Kuan Li-hao (管立豪) said a research team found a small group of flying foxes on Turtle Mountain Island in 2006.
Last year, after repeated surveillance and monitoring efforts, the group was revealed to be more than 20 strong.
The group has been placed under monitoring and plans to create a full-time monitoring station on the island are being discussed, he said.
Kuan said the council was also looking at working with Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area authorities to establish a conservation zone for the bats.
Unlike other bat species, Formosan flying foxes do not possess echolocation abilities.
Instead, their sense of smell and eyesight are more fully developed, said Lin Liang-kong (林良恭), a professor at Tunghai University’s Department of Life Science.
They feed on nectar, blossoms, pollen and fruit, Lin said.
While the species is not recognized as endangered worldwide, they are under threat in some places because of human encroachment on their natural habitat and excessive culling.
The same factors are behind the disappearance of Formosan flying foxes in Taiwan over the last 30 years, COA officials said.
Large numbers of the mammals were caught to be eaten as a delicacy and many were raised as pets during the 1970s, causing the number of Formosan flying foxes to drop sharply, a Forestry Bureau specialist said.
The word “bat” in Chinese has a character that rhymes with the Chinese word for happiness, and bats are considered lucky charms in traditional culture.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
RSS