The number of Taiwanese flying foxes settled in Hualien has exceeded 210! Forest Conservation Office: Hope to increase the number to 500 in the next five years

In the city of Hualien, among the treetops of Daye Mountain and coconut trees, there lives a group of "night pilots". They are the Taiwanese flying foxes, a first-level protected animal. Only Hualien on the main island of Taiwan has a stable population. They rest and sleep during the day and go out and look for food at night. At the end of this year, the number of the population increased to 210 according to surveys! The Hualien County Government and the Hualien Branch of the Forestry Protection Bureau will now display the "Taiwanese Flying Fox Conservation Exhibition" on the first floor of the Far Eastern Department Store Hualien store, inviting the public to get to know our flying nocturnal neighbors.

The Taiwanese flying fox was once on the verge of extinction in the wild. Currently, there are Taiwanese flying foxes on Guishan Island, Green Island and Hualien. There are 600 individuals in the entire Taiwanese population, among which Hualien City is the only stable habitat on the island. The Hualien County Government and the Forestry Protection Bureau will now display the "Taiwanese flying fox theme exhibition: Fruit Bite" on the first floor of the Far Eastern Department Store Hualien store. "One Bite: Late Night Patrol", on display until December 10, introduces the story of Taiwanese flying foxes in Hualien. Their favorite foods include olives, crabapples, and fig fruits, as well as the "residues" spit out by flying foxes after eating the fruits. The neighbors who live with flying foxes include cute animals such as white-nosed hearts and large curly tails!

Senior flying fox volunteer Fan Liren said that the Taiwanese flying fox is a mild vegetarian and is the largest fruit-eating bat in Taiwan. It has a ring of short golden hairs around its neck, big eyes and a fox face. During the fruiting period from May to August every year, they can be easily seen in urban areas looking for food at night, especially in Beibin Park, Hualien City, on the trees next to the night lights of the beach volleyball court and ice skating rink.

Huang Qunze, Hualien Branch Director of the Forestry Protection Bureau, said that the recent appearance of Taiwanese flying foxes in Kaohsiung has shocked the public, but in Hualien, flying foxes are daily life for Hualien people, because Hualien is the only important habitat of Taiwanese flying foxes on the island. Here, "they can live, eat well, and give birth to babies." Starting from the survey records in 2020, there were about 50 in the first year of the population, and by the end of this year there were 210. There are clear breeding records, and they have even been bred to the third generation.

Huang Qunce said that in the future, conservation efforts will be strengthened. He will work with the county government to plant more species that can be used by flying foxes, and suspend tree plowing during the summer foraging period. He also encourages the public to join conservation volunteers and become citizen scientists. He hopes that the population will increase to 500 in five years.

Li Zhifen, vice president of the Hualien branch of the Wilderness Conservation Association, said that Hualien hopes to learn from the experience of flying fox conservation in Nago City, Japan in the future. Flying fox conservation should be incorporated into urban planning considerations. Newly planted street trees must have a fixed proportion of tree species that can be used by flying foxes. Through gathering public consensus and institutionalization, we can gradually create a flying fox-friendly urban habitat environment.