Seeing wild mammals is not a usual experience in my country. If you want to see Formosan Macaque (Macaca cyclopis), you have to take Taipei metro rapid transit to the trailhead and then hike for an hour. You can usually see the monkeys jumping on the trees at dawn or at dusk. Seeing large mammals is even more difficult. You have to drive for more than 6-9 hours to trailheads and hike for one or two days. Then you can see large mammals such as Formosan Sambar (Cervus unicolor swinhoei).
Seeing wild mammals in residential areas is a very unique experience for a foreign student. One day on my way to school, I saw some droppings on the sidewalk. With chocolate-ball like shape, I knew who the producers were. Unfortunately I never had any opportunity to see those four-legged people. Two weeks later, I wanted to have some fresh air so I took a walk around my apartment. When I almost reached Foodhill Drive, I saw something, no, many things moving under the tree shades. I immediately ran back to my apartment to grab my camera. Finally I saw those “chocolate ball producers!”
They walked with grace and ease on the snow. They looked so lazy but they were very agile when they had to escape from the predators. I guessed they were here probably because they couldn’t find enough grass in the mountain. I sat on the grass for hours observing how they ate and walked, and how they listened to and watched strangers like me. It was worthy to spend an afternoon with those four-legged people for they wouldn’t stay here for the entire season.
I took some footages and photos and showed them to my wild life photographer friend. He has been working on Formosan Sambar documentary project for 3 years. He could not believe that deer actually strolled in the residential areas!
I would like to share the footages and photos with you. Look at their tails! Aren’t they adorable?
Footages:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rQA7L7eDw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evcnnpn8yU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUGeXYNlKpY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlIjGn6kCHA
Album:
http://album.blog.yam.com/kokopelle&folder=5542608
For tomorrow, I want to tell you some stories about Formosan Sambar.
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3 comments:
Chocolate Ball Producers! Very nice Ryan. You put a smile on my face as I read your last post. This is an interesting topic - Urban Interface and "who is causing a problem for whom?" Our four legged friends are around the fringes, but then again they were here before SLC and the West as we know it. If you have time 'google' Helena Montana, Deer Problems - Muir deer at a completely different level.
Ryan, I'm laughing at the chocolate balls, too.
Mule deer are browsers that feed on young twigs of shrubs and trees more than grass-eating grazers, the main reason they come down is that the deep snow up higher on the hills makes it hard for them to move around. Their taste for shrubbery upsets the owners of carefully landscaped homes all along the Wasatch.
Thanks Drew! I'll google and read the deer problem when I finish another paper. Do you know that we don't have deer problem but we have monkey problems in several towns. I hope I can some possible solutions to the monkey problems. But so far, I consider educating the public is the key in my country (which is often discussed but usually ignored).
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