Taiwan Today

The Maolin National Scenic Area in Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties announced Nov. 18 the area's reopening and that the “Biennial Butterfly Watching” event kicked off Dec. 12. The scenic area is the only world-class purple crow butterfly habitat in Taiwan and a famous migration spot for the insect, with large flocks flying into the Purple Crow Butterfly Valley Ecological Park every winter. Soon after Typhoon Morakot hit the island this past August, ecological groups were worried that the habitat had been influenced, but their on-site investigations show it was unscathed. Wu Mao-sheng, director of the Maolin National Scenic Area Administration, said after Typhoon Morakot, the number of tourists has dropped 80 percent, with the only people going in and out of the Maolin area being technicians and civil servants. With very few customers, even convenience stores have nearly gone out of business. According to Wu, the Seshe and Maolin ecological parks are still intact despite Typhoon Morakot. In the past, purple crow butterflies migrated through the region at the end of November. But this year, they started coming in early October. Research by the Taiwan Purple Crow Butterfly Ecological Preservation Association indicates the number of this year’s butterflies could surpass the 400,000-plus insects of last year, and may return to earlier levels of 1 million. When the butterfly watching begins, it is estimated that as many as 100 butterflies will fly overhead every five minutes. The “Biennial Butterfly Watching” is scheduled to start Dec. 12 and run till March 6. (JY-THN)