A Formosan black bear that had previously been caught and released in Hualien County was recaptured weighing 28kg less than when it was last seen, raising concerns about its ability to survive on its own, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) said yesterday.
The agency trapped Da Qu-ali (達古阿里), which had been scavenging for food in Yuli Township (玉里), on a fruit farm at about 6am yesterday, FANCA Hualien Branch Deputy Director Chu Yi-chien (朱懿千) said.
A WildOne Wildlife Conservation Association veterinarian who examined the bear found it weighted 63kg, down from the 91kg recorded when it was released on Dec. 4 last year, Chu said.
Photo courtesy of the Nature Conservation Agency Hualien Branch
The vet also found that it had sustained wounds in its left hind leg after having recovered from previous injuries, she said.
Whether the bear would be returned to the wild or receive long-term care in a facility would be determined after a thorough physical checkup, she said.
Da Qu-ali was first rescued by FANCA in late March last year after it repeatedly trespassed in areas near human settlements in Yuli.
After eight months of physical therapy, it was returned to the wild with a satellite tracker around his neck.
The FANCA Hualien Branch said the bear was observed to have entered Yushan National Park, presumably to establish a wintering site.
Da Qu-ali started to relocate early last month before being detected entering areas under the agency’s electronic surveillance, with sightings of it reported over the past 10 days.
The Hualien office previously said that judging by images from cameras, the bear might have become weaker after losing weight from wintering and struggling to find food due to the new leg injury.
On Monday last week, teachers at Yuancheng Elementary School in Yuli reported that a black bear, later confirmed to be Da Qu-ali, had been spotted entering school grounds on Feb. 27.
On Tuesday last week, the bear was discovered to have been scavenging on fruit farms, going as far as to eat rotten meat used to lure fruit flies.
To avoid an encounter with local residents, after images of the bear taken by a member of the public showed it limping and seemingly smaller and weak, the branch office launched the operation to trap it on Sunday before its capture yesterday.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS