'Extinct' Taiwanese Leopard Spotted for the First Time Since Disappearing in 1983
Our world has become a very rough neighborhood in recent years, with scientists and conservationists saying that the Earth is currently undergoing the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals and species going extinct at up to 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural rate.
However, on rare occasions, we’re reminded that perhaps it’s not too late for everyone—perhaps the reports of an animal species’ demise were premature, even if that species remains in grave danger.
Such is the case in Taiwan, where a rare species of large cat, the Formosan clouded leopard, has been spotted in the wilderness by a number of people across the archipelago’s southeast, according to Taiwan News.
The Formosan clouded leopard hadn’t been officially sighted since 1983 and was declared extinct in 2013.
The leopard had been spotted prowling in the countryside near Taitung County’s Daren Township, where the area’s Paiwan tribal authorities had formed indigenous ranger groups to patrol the region and guard sensitive areas.
According to Taiwan News, the rangers spotted the leopard–known as Li’uljaw and holding a sacred status for locals–suddenly climbed a tree before scrambling up a cliff to hunt for goats. Another group witnessed the Asian cat dart past a scooter before quickly climbing a tree and disappearing from sight.
The significance of the find is striking for locals, who held tribal meetings in Alangyi Village to determine how best to move forward.
Tribal members of the village hope to halt hunting in the area by outsiders, while village elders are lobbying Taiwanese authorities to end logging and other activities that harm the land.
The Formosan is known to be quite agile and vigilant, eluding human attempts to trap or otherwise capture it.
National Taitung University’s Department of Life Science professor Liu Chiung-hsi told Focus Taiwan News Channel:
“I believe this animal still does exist.”
Professor Liu also noted that in past investigations of the leopard’s whereabouts, he encountered hunters from the indigenous Bunun people who admitted capturing the animal on several occasions in the late 1990s. However, they burned the bodies for fear of violating Taiwan’s Wildlife Conservation Act.
From 2001 to 2013, a team of Taiwanese and U.S. zoologists surveyed the region but failed to sight the animal once, prompting the declaration that the Formosan clouded leopard had officially gone extinct.
Historical records of the rare cat date back to around the 13th century, when indigenous people brought the leopard’s pelts to trade at the busy markets of port cities like Tainan. It is believed that Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryūzō, in 1900, was the only non-indigenous person to have actually seen a live Formosan clouded leopard.
https://themindunleashed.com/2019/03/extinct-taiwanese-leopard-spotted.html
狩獵遇台灣雲豹！魯凱族獵人12年後說出真相…
排灣族阿塱壹部落傳出族人目睹台灣雲豹，卑南鄉魯凱族排達魯瑪克部落 主席胡進德也表示，12年前狩獵時，同行獵人發現雲豹，且開槍射擊未中，證明台灣雲豹是「神的孩子」！
南島社區大學昨天召開記者會，阿塱壹部落以發現台灣雲豹為由，訴求部落自主守護傳統領域，達魯瑪克部落也呼應此一訴求，部落主席胡進德回顧12年前同行獵人遇到台灣雲豹的經驗。
胡進德說，他從小跟長輩到大南溪上游的傳統領域山上打獵，12年前有次跟獵人朋友上山，分頭尋獵再相遇時，友人告訴他看到台灣雲豹，並且開槍射擊，但沒命中。隔天，他們到豹出沒處，有看到樹幹明顯抓痕。
獵豹失敗，胡進德說，這是神的旨意，因為雲豹在族語裡的意思就是「神的孩子」、「上天的寶貝」，是不能隨便傷害的，受到神的保護，豹未受到傷害。
他說，當時有考慮公布此一遇豹訊息，但耆老不同意，怕消息傳出去，會被禁止上山，直到現在，他才敢講出來。
https://m.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/2712294
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