Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Reeves' muntjac) have made great comebacks and are relatively easy to spot in national
parks and forest reserves. Sika deer, which once roamed the grasslands of the west from
Kenting to Yangmingshan, have been reintroduced to Kenting National Park and are do-
ing well. Head out at night in submontane forests with a high-powered torch (flashlight)
if you want to catch Taiwan's flying squirrels in action.
Though tropical at lower elevations, Taiwan lacks large species of mammals such as
elephants, rhinos and tigers. Taiwan's biggest cat, the spotted cloud leopard, is almost
certainly extinct, while the Formosan black bear is numbered at fewer than 1000. Your
chances of seeing one of these creatures are pretty slim. In 15 years of hiking the wilds of
Taiwan we have seen only one.
You can see mammals in Chihpen Forest Recreation Area, Jiaming Lake National
Trail, Kenting National Park, Nanao, Sheipa National Park and Yushan National Park.
Birds
With its great range of habitats, Taiwan is an ideal place for birds, and birdwatchers.
Over 500 species have been recorded here: 150 are considered resident species, 69 are
endemic subspecies, and 15 are endemic species (though some authorities say there are
24, or more). It's an impressive list and compares very well with larger countries in the
region such as Japan.
Bird conservation has been a great success over the past two decades, and it's there-
fore easy to spot endemics like the comical blue magpie, or multicoloured Muller's Barb-
et even in the hills surrounding Taipei. For one of the world's truly great shows, however,
check out the raptor migration over Kenting National Park. Once threatened by over-
hunting, bird numbers have tripled in the past decade. Several years back, over 50,000
raptors passed over the park in a single day.
You can see birds in Aowanda Forest Recreation Area, Dasyueshan Forest Recreation
Area, Kenting National Park, Kinmen, Tatajia, Wulai and Yangmingshan National Park.
Butterflies
In the 1950s and '60s Taiwan's butterflies were netted and bagged for export in the tens
of millions (per year!). Remarkably, only three species became extinct, though numbers
plummeted for decades. These days top butterfly areas are well protected, and these de-
lightful creatures can be seen everywhere year-round.
Taiwan has over 400 species of butterflies, of which about 60 are endemic. Some
standouts include the Blue Admirals, Red-base Jezebels and Magellan's Iridescent Bird-
wing, which has one of the largest wingspans in the world.
