Taiwan

Taiwanese Macaque, Macaca cyclopis

I spent a week in Taiwan in August 2017. The country is not at all what I imagined: far more forest, mountains and mammals.I returned for two nights in July 2018.

Dasyeushan National Forest Recreation Area

Taiwan Serow, Capricornis swinhoei

Two nights batting here in July 2018 produced numerous Taiwan Serows and Red and White Giant Flying Squirrels, plus three or four Reeve’s Muntjaks and a Masked Palm Civet. We caught a few Taiwanese Broad-muzzled Myotis, Eastern Barbastelles and Eastern Bentwing Bats, a single Formosan Lesser Horseshoe bat and one rather rare Taiwan Long-eared Bat. There were Great Roundleaf Bats roosting in a tunnel just below the park gate.

Formosan Long-eared Bat, Plecotus taivanus

Guano National Forest Recreation Area

Formosan Ferret Badger, Melogale subaurantiaca

I spent two nights here in 2017 with Chao-Lung Hsu from the Taipei bat society so we had permits to harp trap for bats and catch small mammals.

Guano trapping habitat

Spotlighting along the road we had Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel, Formosan Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus formosae) and a Chinese Ferret Badger.

Taiwan Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista lena

Bat trapping produced Formosan Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus monoceros), the newly described Taiwan Long-toed Myotis (Myotis secundus sp. nov), Taiwan Broad-muzzled Mouse-eared Bat (Submyotodon latirostris) and a rare Eastern Barbastelle (Barbastella darjelingensis).

Eastern Barbastelle, Barbastella darjelingensis. Photo Chuck.

Small mammal trapping was also pretty good. We caught several Oldfield White-bellied Rats, a couple of Black-bellied (Pere David’s) Voles and abundant Formosan Field Mice.

Oldfield White-bellied Rat, Niviventer culturatus

Other mammals in the park include Formosan Serow but they are very rarely encountered.

Formosan Field Mouse, Apodemus semotus

Hualien City

Ryukyu Flying Fox, Pteropus dasymallus formosus

I spent a night here in 2017 and successfully found the critically endangered Taiwanese subspecies of Ryukyu Flying Fox.

Taipei

Taiwanese Macaque, Macaca cyclopis

Formosan Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista grandis

And in 2017 I had great views of several Formosan Giant Flying Squirrels in the Fuyang Eco Park downtown, along with a few Pallas’s Squirrels.

Yunlin County

Hodgson’s Myotis

We visited the Golden Bat’s Home (a small museum based in a school) in 2017 to see Hodgson’s Myotis roosting in trees in the school yard, as well as Asiatic Lesser Yellow House Bats and Japanese Pipistrelles in batboxes around the school.

Asiatic Lesser Yellow House Bat, Scotophilus kuhlii

Were it not for two, back to back, typhoons, we would have visited another site and almost certainly see the endemic Taiwanese Serow.  Definitely a place to return to soon.

Formosan Giant Flying Squirrel, Petaurista grandis