Environmental Impact Assessment: How to be a responsible herper
An abbreviated guide on how to spot animals in the wild both day and night and not disturb them and their habitat
By Steven Crook / Contributing reporter
Last November, visitors to Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) were warned not to leave any car windows open near the Baiyang Trail (白楊步道), after several tourists reported seeing Formosan rock macaques break into vehicles and search for food. Around the same time, another macaque troop got a reputation for grabbing snacks from sightseers’ hands at the park’s Tiansiang Service Station (天祥遊客服務站).
Such occurrences are exceptional, however. In Taiwan, the wildlife-human interface is far more often traumatic for the former than for the latter.