National Parks of Taiwan

Over the years, the Yushan National Park has spared no efforts to protect the natural ecosystem and wildlife species. Through the team's joint efforts, the National Park has actively invested in a series of restoration programs for the endangered endemic subspecies of Taiwan, including the Formosan landlocked salmon, Taiwan sika deer, and Formosan black bear. Over the years, the National Park has achieved outstanding results which have been witnessed by all.

In 1994, the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters took over the restoration tasks for the Formosan landlocked salmon, using a dual-directional strategy of in situ conservation and translocation conservation. During this period, the Headquarters promoted various activities, including “opening up dams to return water to the rivers,” “stopping farming to return land to forests,” historical habitat release, and the founding of four indigenous community fish protection teams. The number of Formosan landlocked salmon has grown successfully from 253 (on the verge of extinction) at the beginning of the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters’ establishment, to exceeding the 10,000 mark in 2019.

Taiwan sika deer were once plentiful in the plains and low altitude mountains of Taiwan. However, during the Dutch rule, deer skin was an important export commodity and the deer were hunted in large numbers; later the deer became extinct in the wild due to habitat development.

When the Taipei Zoo was relocated in 1984, the Kenting National Park Headquarters selected 22 Taiwan sika deer from the zoo as breeding stock and conducted academic research and breeding programs in the Sheding Sika Deer Restoration Area.

The restoration process can be divided into three stages: the preparation period, release period, and tracking period. In 2018, there were about 1,500 to 2,000 sika deer in the wild.

In 1989, the Formosan black bear was listed as a critically endangered species, and the number of bears in the wild is now estimated to be about 200 to 600. The Formosan black bear is regarded as an umbrella species in the ecosystem, if one species’ habitat is taken good care of, it will also be beneficial to all other animals sharing the same habitat.

In 1994, the Yushan National Park Headquarters established the Formosan Black Bear Conservation Team to conduct research on the Formosan black bear population in the wild. The Yushan National Park Headquarters collaborated with the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association and Professor Huang Mei-Hsiu of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology and her research team to hold a special exhibition titled “Giving the Bears Back Their Homeland, Returning to Yushan and Visiting the Kingdom of Bears”, to show the public the results of many years of scientific research on the Formosan black bears in Yushan. By using an exhibition format that made it easy for the public to understand the information, it was hoped that the exhibition could effectively convey and inspire the public to cherish the unique Bunun culture and natural environment of Yushan, so that we can jointly protect the natural resources and the rare Formosan black bear.

In the past, the Formosan black bears have faced many risks such as poaching and being accidentally trapped by hunters. Nowadays, because of the overlapping habitats of humans and animals in the Yushan National Park area and the many recreational activities in the mountain areas, there are more opportunities for human-bear encounters, affecting the animals’ behaviors. If food waste from the mountain cabins is not disposed of properly, it may lead to changes in food habits and illnesses of the wildlife.

The exhibition uses a display format supplemented by a video guide to convey conservation concepts, hiking etiquette and the right concepts for a harmonious coexistence with wildlife when entering the mountain areas, and proper responses to wildlife encounters.