National Parks of Taiwan

Incessantly Overcoming Limitations of Strength and Stamina to Enter the Mountains

Huang,Mei-Shio protects black bears without complaint or regret

Story／Chang Chieh-ling

For a Taiwanese ecological researcher to conduct work in the wilderness, that person not only needs to live for long periods in harsh, remote mountainous areas but also must overcome terrain, climate and various other severe difficulties and challenges, even to the extent that the person must face such dangers as injury or death. In such a work environment, hazards lie everywhere.

Huang,Mei-Shio, the first person in the nation to conduct research on Taiwan black bears in the wilderness, owing to of her determination and dreams, hopes to pass on ecological information about Taiwan’s unique black bears to society. Devoted to promotion of conservation work even though her work is full of danger and all sorts of challenges, she still finds a lot of enjoyment in it.

When we think about an ordinary woman and the sort of challenges she would face in the course of wilderness survey duties, National PingTung University Institute of Wildlife Conservation Professor Huang,Mei-Shio first of all interestingly notes that perhaps many would feel such a thing to be unimaginable: surveys of black bears in the wilderness should be done by a man. Especially for Huang, who just returned to Taiwan from an international conference in Mexico on bears, she points out that most of those who participated in the conference were also males, further highlighting her differences with others. However, she emphasized that it is an old concept within society that most dangerous work is done by men because males naturally pursue danger and enjoy the stimulation of challenge. Moreover, society’s sterotypical impression of women and the way women are brought up have created some limitations to women’s development, and this is an issue that deserves more examination, she says.

Huang says she remembers the first time she surveyed Taiwan black bears in the wild in 1997 and the summer of the following year when she started research. By the end of 2000, in order to conduct more detailed research on the behavior of Taiwan black bears, she selected a place at an elevation of 1,350 meters in Yushan National Park where the traces of humans are rarely seen and settled down for a year and a half. Because the terrain of Taiwan’s mountains is very rugged and the research sites were deep in the mountains, research personnel had to carry 20-30 kilograms of supplies through the mountains and valleys. A one-way trip took about 3-4 days. For this reason, two essential parts of the work were strength and stamina. In addition, landslides, interruptions in transportation, dangerous bridges, typhoons and other uncertainties added many variables to the research process. She laughingly says that wilderness survey work is quite onerous.

While Taiwan black bears have already been listed as a threatened species, they are still hunted. Most people blame the aborigines who hunt the bears, but this is unfair. Huang,Mei-Shio disagrees with the saying that “great rewards go to the brave”. This idea needs to be reexamined, she says. The fact that people who live in the flatlands treasure bear paws as a Chinese medicine and think bear paws and gall bladders are sacred is what has led to the killing of bears. She believes that people must start with themselves to eradicate the slaughter of Taiwan’s black bears.

Huang further emphasized that in fact, the public deeply misunderstands Taiwanese black bears. Indeed, based on research regarding the excretions of Taiwan black bears, they in fact are omnivorous animals and not carnivorous. For this reason, black bears will not initiate attacks on people, and when they encounter humans, they are more frightened than the people are. They will always flee for their lives except if they are a short distance away (about the length of a human body).

People became more conscious of the need to protect Taiwan’s black bears about 10 years ago, and viewpoints have changed considerably from the past. Huang called on the nation’s people to understand correctly that conservation work starts with everyone and through the combined efforts of the public and government, a new direction for the future can be set, allowing Taiwan’s unique black bears an opportunity for sustainable existence.

Source:Taken from Taiwan News Weekly