The number of nests built by the invasive African sacred ibis in Changhua’s Hanbao Wetlands (漢寶濕地) has nearly tripled over the past two years, despite efforts to eradicate them, an environmentalist said.
Aerial photographs showed 800 nests in the wetlands, up from 300 two years ago, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union Changhua Division director-general Tsai Chia-yang (蔡嘉陽) said.
“The government needs a strong plan of action to deal with this,” Tsai said.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Wild Bird Federation
The bird symbolizes wisdom in Egyptian culture, but in Europe it has been labeled as one of the 100 worst invasive animal species.
The ibis entered the wild in Taiwan 34 years ago after an enclosure at a zoo in northern Taiwan broke open in a typhoon.
The Chinese Wild Bird Federation estimates that there are 2,500 to 3,000 of the birds in the wild, making it one of the most invasive animal species in the nation.
The birds move to different areas of Taiwan proper depending on the season, Tsai said, adding that they lay about three eggs every summer and spring.
The Hanbao Wetlands are particularly suitable for nesting, since the surrounding fish farms and fields provide an abundant source of food, he said.
Rubbing corn oil on the eggs to reduce the likelihood of hatching — a common technique for dealing with invasive birds — has proven ineffective, union vice secretary Lee I-hsin (李益鑫) said.
Removing young hatchlings from treetops has also been ineffective, as the birds are easily frightened and fly away, he said, adding that officials last year succeeded in removing only about 50 of the birds.
The US government last year began allowing US residents to hunt the species using bows, but this approach would likely not work in Taiwan, he said, adding that the use of firecrackers is also being considered.
The ibis has no natural predators in Taiwan and even though environmentalists have yet to find any evidence of it harming the local ecology, it does damage vegetation when building its nest, Lee said.
The bird also shares its habitat with local herons, meaning that it might eventually crowd them out, he added.
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS