Endangered Animal Stories – In Case You Missed It
In this episode of In Case You Missed It, we look back at some of our recent stories about endangered animals and conservation efforts.
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00:00Hello and welcome. I'm Eric Gao with news from around Taiwan about endangered species
00:20in case you missed it.
00:22Taiwan is home to several sea turtle species, with five out of the world's seven varieties
00:27found in the country's waters. However, in recent years, more and more sea turtles have
00:31been turning up with large tumors on their bodies. Our reporter Sandy Qi went to a sea
00:36turtle rehab center to find out why.
00:40Six sea turtles like this one have been showing up on Taiwan's shores recently. The cauliflower-like
00:46tumors growing all over this green sea turtle's body are caused by a disease called fibropapematosis,
00:52or just FP. It forms tumors on weak spots on the skin, including the eyes and mouth.
00:58Fibropapematosis is the result of a lower resistance of turtles. So there is something
01:04wrong in the food they eat and that lowers their resistance. And as a result of the low
01:09resistance, the immune system, well, then they get the outbreaks of these viruses.
01:15This disease was first identified in the U.S. state of Florida in the 1900s. Studies show
01:22it's mainly found in areas with warmer waters, such as the Hawaiian Islands, Florida and
01:27the Caribbean. And now it's been spotted in Taiwan, with several turtles found with FP
01:32in the last few years.
01:34That's because the general conditions are getting worse because of higher temperatures
01:38of the water, for example, stress on the foraging ground. It's a bad sign that it's happening.
01:45A sea turtle rehabilitation center in southern Taiwan has treated 11 individuals with FP
01:51That number may seem low, but according to the center's vet, Li Zhongxian, there are
01:56probably more infected turtles they haven't seen yet. Researchers believe 80% of sea turtles
02:01have it, but it only becomes visible when the animals get weak and tumors start to grow.
02:07And there's no cure for the disease.
02:10Researchers say they still don't know why the disease is now emerging in Taiwan's waters,
02:22but some are convinced that it's due to human activity. They say the few infected turtles
02:27spotted around Taiwan are a warning.
02:40The disease itself is harmless to the turtles, but it does make it harder for them to survive
02:52in the wild.
02:53When a sea turtle gets sick, we can imagine that it's weak.
02:59And when it's affected by fishing activities, garbage, or other human interference,
03:05the survival rate of a sea turtle like this should be lower.
03:08Each year, Taiwan sees hundreds of sea turtles beached on its shores, but the majority of
03:13them already found dead. Human activity is the main culprit in most of the incidents.
03:19Conservationists see the emergence of FP as a warning that more needs to be done to
03:24improve the country's water quality and understand what's really behind the turtles' tumors.
03:29Alex Chen and Zannie Qi for Taiwan Plus.
03:33It's not all bad news for sea turtles though. Conservationists on Taiwan's outlying Penghu
03:37Islands have released 13 rehabilitated sea turtles back into the ocean.
03:42Jiayou! Jiayou! Jiayou!
03:46These turtles were rescued from bad weather conditions or just because of poor health.
03:50They were released once they were deemed healthy enough. Conservationists hope that these turtles
03:54will return to Penghu to lay eggs in the future. Twelve of them were green loggerhead turtles
03:59and one was an olive ridley sea turtle. It's the first turtle of its kind to be released
04:04here in Taiwan.
04:05This is a special report to record the future ecology of sea turtles in Penghu.
04:10We also hope that sea turtles will return to Penghu to lay eggs and produce more next
04:15generation sea turtles. We also hope that we can have an interesting development in the
04:18future, including more opportunities for children to learn about the ocean.
04:21An outbreak of crown-of-thorn starfish is eating away at the coral ecosystem near Taiwan's
04:26outlying Pratas Island. Irene Lin looks at the scale of the emergency and how scientists
04:31are trying to control it.
04:34These thorny starfish are causing massive damage to the coral ecosystem around Taiwan's
04:39outlying Pratas Island, located in the South China Sea.
04:54Crown-of-thorn starfish are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They're named after
04:59the toxin-tipped spikes that cover their bodies. These starfish have a voracious appetite
05:05almost exclusively for coral. That's what attained on their reputation. Each adult starfish
05:11can eat up to its size in coral per day.
05:14Not only do they eat a lot, there's also too many of them. Scientists in Taiwan have reported
05:19more than 1,200 starfish every 10,000 square meters, far beyond the acceptable range of
05:2515 to 30. Coral expert Zheng Mingxiu says the crisis could spiral out of control and
05:30have an even worse effect than climate change.
05:43Scientists say the outbreak now stretches four kilometers off the coast of Pratas Island,
05:48and the population is still expanding. With summer the starfish spawning season, and no
05:54ocean dive-in in the winter, it's now a race against time to keep the outbreak from spreading further.
06:12The team has been picking up the starfish one by one with tongs, and using a specialized
06:17syringe to inject them with acid. The last mission removed only a small number of the
06:22crown-of-thorns population, about 1,800. As the outbreak continues to spread, scientists
06:28are calling for more awareness and resources to avert a coral crisis before it's too late.
06:34Chris Ma and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.
06:37There's a museum in northeast Taiwan that's showcasing some of the country's last red
06:42coral sculptures. Irene returns with a look at how one family is keeping this fading art
06:47form afloat after years of overfishing.
06:53Miniature streets, houses and people, all carved out of red coral. Their creator, 77-year-old
07:00Lai Yong-Hsing, is one of the last coral sculptors in the country. Over 25 years, he's sought
07:06ways to sustain the dying art in his seaside hometown of Yilan in northeast Taiwan.
07:23Lai's works are made using a precious deep-sea coral called red coral. Red coral was once
07:31commonly harvested for use in jewelry, but is now endangered thanks to overfishing and
07:36pollution. Taiwan saw red coral exports boom from the start of the 20th century during
07:41the Japanese colonial era, and trade peaked in the 1970s. Yilan's subtropical climate
07:48made it the center of the trade. Lai's family was among many who made their living from
07:52the so-called red gold. But as he saw demand grow, he realized red coral was a finite resource,
07:59and things needed to change before it ran out.
08:18Lai's nephew, Chen Chi-Wen, shares this view, but he also thinks it's important to keep
08:23a traditional craft alive.
08:48But it's not just the art that is disappearing. The coral is disappearing too. Red coral sculptures
09:03like those in the Lai family may soon lack the raw material they need.
09:18Lai Yuan-Yuan is Lai Rong-Hsing's son. He says his father's craft, the fishing industry
09:26and the coral all need protecting.
09:48The Lai family believes people need a deeper understanding of both the industry and the
09:52ecosystem. Only then can Taiwan ensure that red coral and its sculptors have a future,
09:58and that this museum in Yilan will still have these eye-popping works of art.
10:03Klein Wong and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.
10:07For the first time ever in Taiwan, a Formosan flying fox pup has been rescued.
10:13Sandy Chee went to the facility where the bat's been kept to see how the animal's doing.
10:18Looking happy and healthy, this bat is a Formosan flying fox pup.
10:23A local volunteer rescued the pup in Hualien a few months ago and sent her to the Wild
10:28One Wildlife Conservation Association, the only non-profit animal rescue center in eastern Taiwan.
10:34This is the first time such a young bat, just two weeks old, has been rescued in Taiwan.
10:43Since this was their first rescue case of this kind, the center reached out to local
11:01and Japanese experts with experience dealing with this vulnerable species of fruit bats.
11:13The Formosan flying fox is a subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox, the largest bat native
11:26to Taiwan. It's considered to be endangered. Before 1970, there were over 2,000 of them
11:33in eastern Taiwan, but their numbers dropped drastically due to overhunting. Today, there
11:38could be as few as 200 in the country.
11:41Staff say the rescued pup is growing healthily. Now it weighs 230 grams, almost three times
12:08as when it was first found.
12:16Taking care of a megabat is not easy, as humans can never replace its mother.
12:21To provide the best care for the pup, the vets and other staff diligently monitor its
12:41condition. They feed it carefully twice a day and manage its enclosure.
12:51Now that they've had some experience with the pup, the staff say they've learned new
13:12things about the species.
13:22The center's staff admit they can't know exactly the best way to care for a Formosan
13:39flying fox pup, as it's never been attempted before. But they're determined to keep giving
13:44it their best shot, and gather as much information as they can while they do.
13:49They hope what they find out will someday help see the Formosan flying fox taken off
13:53the endangered species list. Alex Chen and Sani Qi for Taiwan Plus.
13:59A rare Chinese pangolin has been born at Prague Zoo. This species is critically endangered
14:05and notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. The female pangol pup is only the second to
14:11be bred in captivity in Europe after its older sister, named Kone, was born in February last
14:17year at the same zoo. The new arrival's parents, Guo Bao and Reng Ho Tang, have been on loan
14:23from Taipei Zoo since 2022.
14:26Thanks for joining us for In Case You Missed It. Download our mobile app on your device
14:30to get more of our news reports on the go. Finally, check out these animals enjoying
14:34some icy treats to combat the scorching heat at a zoo in Rome.
14:38I'm Eric Gao. Take care and have a great day.
14:47In Case You Missed It. Download our mobile app on your device to get more of our news reports on the go.