Three stray rough-toothed dolphins that have been living in the Tamshui River for three weeks will be captured today and trucked to the ocean, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday.
About 40 boats, along with several divers, will participate in the rescue effort. The dolphins will be directed by the boats and divers toward the bank of the river, where, according to the plan, they will be stranded and placed in trucks.
Medical care for the dolphins will be available at Ocean World in Yehliu, Taipei County. Some river traffic will be suspended today.
The three dolphins were first noticed in a section of the river near Guandu Bridge on Feb. 11, not far from where the river meets the sea. In the last three weeks they have swum 10km further upstream. Yesterday they reached Chunghsiao Bridge.
When the dolphins were first discovered, the government decided to leave them undisturbed, but closely monitor their activities. On Wednesday, officials decided that the animals' long stay in fresh water might have a negative impact on their health.
Officials said that fresh water had jeopardized the dolphins' health, with two of them already suffering from tilted dorsal fins. The depth of the river upstream is less than 3m, which is a harmful environment for dolphins.
"Based on our observations, the three dolphins will be unable to find their way out on their own," said Tai Chen-yao (戴振耀), deputy minister of the council.
The rescue needs to be carried out collaboratively in order to minimize the risks, Tai said.
Yesterday, the council worked to integrate resources from government agencies, the Taiwan Cetacean Society and Ocean World in order to undertake the rescue.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS