National Parks of Taiwan

Taroko National Park Headquarters and the Taroko National Park Police Corps released a Formosan Serow（Naemorhedus swinhoei）at Buluowan this morning(March 24, 2010). The serow had been rescued earlier from the clutches of poachers. When released the serow looked back repeatedly until it disappeared into its forest home after around five minutes

The park headquarters said that while on patrol recently the park police encountered suspicious persons in a vehicle at Danzhui Mountain trailhead at the 183 kilometer point of the Central Cross-island Highway. A search found this serow and the bodies of Formosan barking deer and flying squirrels that had been caught in traps. The five people in the vehicle were taken to the police station for questioning and their booty confiscated. The five were charged under the Wildlife Protection Law.

The dead annuals have been delivered to a research organization and, early today, the necessary measures before the wild release of the serow were carried out. Specialist Chu He-tsong of the park headquarters’ Conservation Section first gave the animal a health check up. After being locked in a cage overnight it was nervous and while being checked it hit itself against the cage. Mr. Chu and his colleagues patiently calm it. After it was given injections of fructose, liver-strengthening and anti-parasite drugs the serow was carefully loaded onto a truck and taken to Buluowan.

Upon arriving at Buluowan the serow showed signs of travel sickness and had difficulty standing initially when the cage door was opened. Specialist Chu gently helped it from the cage. The serow then ran towards the forest. However, contrary to expectations, it didn’t flee into the forest directly, it halted on the grassy slope, looking back repeatedly at its saviours, for about five minutes before disappearing into its forest home.

The national park headquarters said that the Formosan serow is Taiwan’s only Bovidae family animal and it is an endemic “rare and valuable” protected species. The Formosan barking deer is a protected endemic sub species. The park calls on the public to care for the natural environment, help stamp out poaching and play a part in conservation efforts so that Taiwan’s wild animals can live and play in their forest home in peace and the natural cycle of life can continue and, in doing so, help improve Taiwan’s international conservation image.

News issued by: Taroko National Park Headquarters
Translated by: Kevin Lax