Researchers have sighted leopard cats in Tainan, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.
Sightings of the endangered endemic species were captured on automated infrared cameras by researchers, the ministry said.
The discovery is significant, as leopard cats have not been seen in the area since 2006, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
“Leopard cats were spotted 17 years ago in northern Tainan, but this time they were at the downstream area of the Tsengwen River (曾文溪) in the city’s southwest,” the ministry said.
“The area is part of a conservation belt that the ministry set up in southern Taiwan,” it added.
The finding has extended the area that leopard cats potentially live in southward, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
Leopard cats are most often seen in Taichung, and Miaoli and Nantou counties, with isolated sightings in Hsinchu, Changhua and Chiayi counties, it said.
Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute assistant researcher Lin Yu-hsiu (林育秀) said that while sightings of leopard cats are a positive sign for the species, it is also important to continue monitoring.
“Leopard cats are highly active mammals. A female leopard cat can travel 9km in one night,” Lin said.
“With a single report, it is difficult to tell whether the leopard cat was on an expedition or part of an established population,” she said.
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