Wild animals reappearing in Taiwan's northern coastal areas

Want China Times, CNA 2014-12-15

Formosan rock monkeys in the Taipei Zoo, Feb. 11. (File photo/Yao Chih-ping)

A survey on wild animals on Taiwan's northern coast between the Tamshui and Jinshan areas has found that since farming activities on the villages skirting Yangmingshan National Park and human consumption of wild animals decreased, many idle farm plots are turning into second-growth forests and rare wild animals are reappearing.

The Forestry Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture said that the survey found an abundance of wild animals in the second-growth forests with a diversity comparable to the country's national parks, which have long been under strict protection.

The survey recorded ferret badgers, masked palm civets, civet cats, pangolins, Formosan rock monkeys, Reeves' muntjac and boars.

The survey also found that the population density of several animals are higher than those of the natural forest just two kilometers away, including twice the number of masked palm civets and five times the number of ferret badgers. Civet cats have even been spotted on the outskirts of mountain villages.

The institute claims that the reappearance of the wildlife is related to the diminished farming activities and fewer people eating the wild aninmals.

More than 20 years ago, farming was thriving in the villages near Yangmingshan National Park, and many residents regarded wild animals as pests or food for consumption.

Over the last decade, however, much of the farmland has been left unused, making it a paradise for wildlife again.