An eastern grass owl fledgling that was found injured in Pingtung County’s Yanpu Township (鹽埔) in January has made a full recovery and was released back into the wild on Tuesday last week, the county government said in a statement yesterday.
The owl had strained its wings and was cared for by the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals, which is operated by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.
After three months, it had regained the ability to catch live mice and was subsequently released by a riverbank, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
The eastern grass owl is an endangered species, with an estimated population of fewer than 500 in Taiwan, they said.
As it is active on low-lying farmland, when a fledgling is unfamiliar with flying and hunting, it can encounter many dangers, so the species has a high mortality rate, said Hung Hsiao-yu (洪孝宇), a researcher at the university’s rescue center.
The injured owl was found by a local pineapple farmer surnamed Lin (林), who had taken ecology classes organized by the county government, it said.
He had learned about the eastern grass owl in his classes, but never expected to encounter one in need, Lin was quoted as saying. He was happy that the rescue was successful.
The classes are part of the local government’s participation in the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s “Endangered Species and Important Habitat Ecological Services Benefits Promotion Plan,” in which the county pays farmers to adopt eco-friendly farming practices such as refraining from using rat poison, traps and bird nets, as well as protecting the grass owl’s feeding area.
In 2022, 32 farmers were approved to join the program, increasing to 48 last year, covering a total of 68.65 hectares of farmland, the statement said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS