A more sophisticated attitude toward wildlife conservation is finally gaining a foothold in Taiwan. The government is much more active in suppressing illegal importation and sale of rhino horn and tiger parts, and at the same time it is paying more attention to preserving the island's own wildlife. In January, the provincial government gave especially high visibility to its US$3.7 million project to return native Formosan sika deer to the wild when the first group often deer was released in Kenting National Park at the southern tip of the island.
The Formosan sika deer (Cervus nippon taiouanus), one of thirteen subspecies of spotted deer worldwide, is unique to Taiwan. Somewhat larger than other subspecies, the deer used to roam wild throughout the island in huge herds. Early trade records show that, during the mid-seventeenth century, when Taiwan was under Dutch occupation, more than one hundred thousand deerskins were exported annually to Japan and the West. Most of these were skins of sika bucks, says W. M. Chen (陳文明), a senior specialist in the conservation division at Kenting National Park, so a fair estimate of the deer population at the time would be in the millions. “Taiwan was a paradise for wild sika deer,” he says.
Deer of all species have a special place in Chinese gastronomy, pharmacology, and symbolism. Every part of a deer has a use: antlers for medicine, deerskin for leather, venison for food, and the bones, blood, and the sex organ of bucks (mixed with wine) are believed to promote health and virility. Because Chinese consider wild animals tastier and better for the health than meat from domesticated animals, venison has always been considered a delicacy. Deer are also considered lucky. They are found in many New Year paintings and woodblock prints to symbolize wealth because lu 鹿 , the Chinese word for deer, is a homonym for lu 祿 , the word for wealth and success. The prevalence of deer in Taiwan's lower and middle elevations is reflected in such city names as Lukang, Luhsi, and Luku. An area on the island's western plains was once known as “the deer lot” because so many deer could be found there.
But the lucky symbol itself has not been very lucky at survival in Taiwan. Over the years, excessive hunting and trapping have depleted the population, and the cultivation of forest lands has left little room for the species to roam. According to a 1973 survey, the last wild Formosan sika deer was probably trapped and killed in 1969. “We could not be 100 percent sure that the species no longer existed in the wild,” Chen explains. “But it was clear that wild Formosan sika deer would vanish completely if we didn't do something about it.”
Project leader Wang Ying – “We want to establish a model for similar projects involving other endangered species.”
Large numbers of sika deer were still found in zoos and on private deer farms. By the end of 1992, according to the provincial government's Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the captive deer population exceeded thirteen thousand. But today's farmed deer and the wild deer of the past are quite different. The domesticated version are not particularly afraid of people and their digestive systems have adjusted to different types of feed. Since they do not have to forage for food, the farmed deer have also lost some of the abilities they need to survive in the wild.
In early 1983, S. Lee Campbell, a visiting professor at Tunghai University in Taichung, brought up the idea of restoring wild Formosan sika deer. She soon gained support from private organizations such as the ROC Society for Wildlife & Nature (SWAN), which had been formed the previous year, and several government agencies, including the Ministry of the Interior.
Later that year, a group of experts in biology, botany, zoology, ecology, and veterinary science were asked to conduct a feasibility study. Historians and others also began gathering information on sika habitats and their interactions with humans. The Ministry of the Interior, which has jurisdiction over national parks, placed the conservation division of Kenting National Park in charge of administration and management of the restoration area. Various international wildlife conservation groups and foreign experts also offered advice on such topics as how to handle deer propagation programs and how to build wildlife-safe fencing over large areas.
Campbell was made project leader, but she died in an airplane accident in September 1983. The restoration plan was then put under the leadership of Professor Wang Ying (王穎) of National Taiwan Normal University's Institute of Biology.
The restoration project, officially begun in 1984, was divided into three stages: preparatory, adjustment, and tracking. “The goal of the project is to give the Formosan sika a chance to regain their natural abilities, then return them to the wild,” Wang says. “But being Taiwan's first restoration project on large mammals, we also want to establish a model for similar projects involving other endangered species.”
Kenting National Park conservationist W.M. Chen – “It was clear that wild Formosan sika deer would vanish completely if we didn't do something about it.”
The preparatory stage started with collecting information on the deer, such as habitat, grazing preferences and mating cycles. After considering climate, water sources, and other environmental concerns, the management team decided to set up the restoration area in Sheting Nature Park, a protected area in the eastern section of Kenting National Park.
Another important task was finding the Formosan sika deer with the best physical condition and purest blood strain. Researchers found that different subspecies of spotted deer had been introduced to Taiwan since the 1960s and had mixed with pure Formosan sika deer. As a result, the deer raised on farms no longer had pure blood strains. Researchers then turned to island zoos, ultimately choosing deer from the Taipei City Zoo as starters for the project.
After a year studying deer behavior in the zoo, the research team worked out a detailed observation report on individual and social behavior of sika deer. In November 1986, seventeen does and five bucks traveled from Taipei to their new home in Kenting. The deer were at first kept in a temporary deer house, similar to their zoo setting, until the restoration area was constructed and secured with fencing. The staff also conducted further physical examinations and observed deer habits. During this time, three of the original group died, but twelve fawns were born.
The second stage of the project began in 1988, when the restoration area was completed and the thirty-one sika deer were moved out of their temporary lodging. “Up to this point, the project had been kept rather low key,” Chen says. “We wanted to avoid unnecessary disturbance from tourists and other visitors.” The final restoration area includes a deer house, laboratory, observation area, and 130 hectares of adjustment area, where the deer gradually regain their ability to live in the wild. Here, the contact between people and deer, as well as the supply of artificial feeds, were gradually reduced. At the same time. access to the adjustment area was increased, giving the deer more opportunity to fend for themselves. Although still surrounded by fences, the deer had to find their own food and were allowed to mate and breed naturally.
The main tasks for the research team were to observe how the deer adjusted to the environment, record their behavior, and conduct regular health examinations. It turned out that the deer adjusted quickly to their freedom. By January 1994, the original group of thirty-one had increased to four generations of nearly 140 deer, all in good physical condition.
Government officials helped release the first group often sika deer in January. If all goes well, more deer will be released in other parts of the island.
But good health is only one component of survival. Over the past few decades, many sika deer had escaped from farms or were released into the wild. But most did not do well on their own. “It's like when people escape from prison after many years,” Professor Wang says. “They aren't familiar with the environment and aren't in good physical condition, so their chances of survival are slim.”
A couple of years ago, W.M. Chen recalls, a deer farmer released six sika deer. Within a week or so, four of them were killed by cars. one was caught in a trap. and the other one just disappeared. But Chen thinks the deer in this project have a much better chance of survival because they went through an adjustment period and will do a better job of avoiding people, their main threat.
The first group of sika deer were released into the wild on January 23. The gate was opened by Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), minister of the interior, and Sun Ming-hsien (孫明賢), chairman of the Council of Agriculture, thereby givinig the ceremony – and the government's commitment to wildlife management – higher public visibility. Three bucks and seven does, all tagged and equipped with transmitters, leaped out of the holding area and soon disappeared into the tropical bush. They now face the challenge of nature – and people – on their own. “We are glad that the deer can return to nature,” Wu said during the ceremony. “But we are also very worried. It only takes a few people who don't have an awareness of wildlife conservation to destroy the hard work of many people over a long time.”
Over the next eighteen to thirty-six months (the estimated life of the transmitters), the third stage of the restoration project, researchers will trace the movements of the deer and their survival rate in the wild. If they do well, more deer from the restoration area will be released in other areas of the island with similar habitats. “The biological problems of survival are small,” Wang Ying says. “What really worries us is hunting." He explains that the Formosan sika deer generally adapt well to their environment, and the island has few large carnivores that can hurt them. The biggest threat comes from people.
Sika deer, here resting in Sheting Nature Park, begin the adjustment from zoo life to being on their own. Colored ear tags indicate the different generations of deer in the project.
Chen voices the same concern. “There is no law to keep them from being hunted when they leave the restoration area,” he says. “Sika deer are not yet categorized as rare, valuable, or as an endangered species. In fact, the deer are officially considered livestock, not wildlife, and therefore aren't protected by the Wildlife Conservation Act.” Chen had hoped that re-categorization would be completed before the first deer were released into the wild. The project's staff is continuing its negotiations with the provincial government's Department of Agriculture and Forestry and expects wild sika deer to be given a separate category in the near future.
But establishing protection under the law is not necessarily the most important step. Success ultimately hinges on changing public attitudes toward wildlife conservation. The process is fraught with challenges, given the public's desire to find venison on restaurant menus and deer antlers in traditional pharmacies. But the staff at Kenting National Park already has considerable experience in promoting wildlife conservation education. Because adult habits are difficult to change. the staff has focused on primary and junior-high students in hopes that the kids will influence their parents. “We find this reverse education is much more effective,” Chen says.
The publicity given to the sika deer project already indicates that some government agencies now have greater commitment to wildlife management. The next step is to convince more people that hunting wild deer is unacceptable. “While Taiwan has been seriously criticized internationally by wildlife conservationists, we do have a group of people working quietly to clear this bad name,” Wu Poh-hsiung said in praise of the research team. “Hopefully, their efforts will help make people understand that protecting wildlife is the responsibility of every citizen.”