Conservation, a Task for Us All

—Protecting Taiwan’s Leopard Cats

Cindy Li　/　photos by Kent Chuang　/　tr. by Phil Newell

February 2024

中文日本語

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Many of the leopard cats that are taken to rescue centers are kittens that have lost their mothers. (courtesy of TBRI)

In Nantou County’s Jiji Township, you will see not only many signs for a famous local product, “banana egg rolls,” but just as many statues of leopard cats. This adorable creature that lives in mountain foothills has become consummately integrated into the lives of the area’s residents, so that even locals who have never seen one in the flesh know what it looks like. A street vendor says with a laugh: “It’s thanks to the leopard cat that people come here to visit!”

It is extremely rare to see a leopard cat in the wild today. Lin Yu-hsiu, an associate researcher in the Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute (TBRI) of the Ministry of Agriculture, who began doing research on leopard cat conservation back in 2010, says: “Other than via a tracking device, I have only encountered one a single time.”

In terms of numbers, the Iriomote cat, a type of leopard cat that lives on Iriomote Island in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, is in a more critical situation than its Taiwanese cousin, for only 100-plus Iriomote cats remain. But there is little room for optimism about the Taiwanese leopard cat either. According to estimates in a study published in 2017, Taiwan’s leopard cat population was in the range of about 468 to 699 individuals, and was probably declining.

In response to this situation, a leopard cat conservation program has been in full swing in Taiwan since 2019.

World’s first roadkill warning system

Statistically speaking, the greatest threat to the survival of the leopard cat is road traffic.

At first the TBRI hoped to enable leopard cats to cross roads safely by erecting warning signs and developing intelligent road safety systems. But the many restrictions were of only limited effectiveness, so they began to think about whether different approaches might be more impactful. TBRI associate researcher Lin Te-en is the founder of the Taiwan Roadkill Observation Network (TRON). He and his partners figured out that the optimal solution could involve smartphones.

Just at that time a Taiwanese startup company, 3SDrive, were developing their Omnie CUE navigation system, and invited the TBRI to integrate their ecological conservation education database into the system. The two parties quickly agreed to work together.

Omnie CUE went online in 2019. Its wildlife roadkill warning service combines roadkill report data on leopard cats, pangolins, land crabs, birds, and amphibians gathered by TRON since 2011 with a map of Taiwan, and uses voice, sounds and images to remind drivers to stay within prescribed speed limits in areas that are roadkill hotspots. Moreover, to make the system more user-friendly, they have adjusted the type and number of warnings issued based on the behavioral characteristics of different animals and the frequency with which they cross specific sections of road.

This is the world’s first navigation system with a roadkill warning function, and Lin Te-en reveals that when the concept was first proposed, Japanese academics soon came to Taiwan to learn about it, and the information was helpful in creating the Iriomote cat roadkill warning system now in use on Iriomote Island.

Following in the wake of Omnie CUE, two other navigation system businesses, NaviKing and Garmin, added roadkill hotspot data to their systems in 2019 and 2021 respectively. The vehicle-mounted Toyota Drive+ Connect navigation system sold by the automotive group Hotai Motor Company, which is based on the Garmin navigation system, began in 2021 to offer a “wildlife activity hotspot” service.

Cece Hsieh, general manager of Hotai’s External Affairs & Legal Division, relates that since drivers began using their system, they have been surprised to hear reminders of animal presence even in downtown Taipei City, and the fact that many animals live in such areas has been deeply impressed on their minds.

Lin Te-en hopes that in the future the roadkill warning data can be used on other platforms, such as Google Maps. “We want to let all vehicle drivers know that they can contribute to animal protection in this way.”

Farmland that provides a habitat where leopard cats can survive can be certified to allow its produce to be labeled as “leopard-cat friendly.”

This navigation system uses voice and images to alert drivers when they are approaching a wildlife roadkill hotspot. (courtesy of Hotai Motor Company)

Warning signs placed near leopard-cat roadkill hotspots remind drivers to slow down and proceed with care.

This display at the Conservation Education Center of the Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute explains in detail the appearance and characteristics of leopard cats.

Raising money to protect chicken houses

How large a habitat do leopard cats need? Lin Yu-hsiu, remarks: “In the past people who had just a few hectares of land were considered big landowners.” But leopard cats need even more. For example, research into the Iriomote cat shows that males can have a range of ten to 20 kilometers, while females, though their active range is smaller because they need to nurture their young, can still roam over an area of least ten kilometers.

As these “big landowners” move along ridgelines, inevitably their range overlaps with areas of human activity, which is one reason why they are often found breaking into chicken houses.

The most effective way to keep leopard cats out is to increase the height of the surrounding walls or fences. But most local chicken farmers lack the resources and manpower to make such alterations. The former Forestry Bureau (now the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency) and the Miaoli County Government began making ecosystem services payments to farmers to help them make renovations, while the Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan (LCAT), in cooperation with the media outlet Wuowuo, which specializes in animal issues, launched a fundraising campaign. Besides upgrading protections for chicken houses, they also recruited volunteers to make the needed improvements.

Can intrusions be completely prevented by such measures? Chen Qizhong, a specialist in habitat conservation at the LCAT, says that raising enclosures to a height of two meters can prevent 90% of leopard cat attacks. Nonetheless, they have encountered some cases of “super skilled” cats.

“At the time we set up eight automatic cameras, but we still couldn’t get a photo of it!” says Wu Zhaoyao, a member of the management committee at Wulong Temple in Miaoli’s Xihu Township, recalling his duel with a formidable raider of his chicken houses back in 2019.

“But now, as far as I’m concerned, the leopard cat is an ecological indicator species whose presence shows that the environment is healthy and the crops I grow will be safe.” After several encounters, Wu began to have a better understanding of the leopard cat, and after retiring he began to devote himself to leopard cat conservation.

The Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan’s fundraising project for chicken farm improvements not only provides subsidies but also recruits volunteers to help chicken farmers install protective fencing. (courtesy of LCAT)

Wu Zhaoyao, whose chicken houses were raided by leopard cats in the past, now promotes leopard cat conservation in his area.

This automatic camera set up in a vegetable garden has yet to photograph a leopard cat, but it has snapped many images of other wildlife such as masked palm civets and crab-eating mongooses.

This statue of “Mazu protecting leopard cats” in the courtyard of Wulong Temple in Xihu, Miaoli County, reminds people that leopard cats live all around us.

Good for leopard cats, good for us

“Today the birds, tomorrow mankind.” This is the warning to humanity presented by the documentary Fly, Kite Fly by director Liang Chieh-te. Lin Yu-hsiu suggests that the situation of the leopard cat today has a similar significance. “Showing concern for the leopard cat is also a way of taking care of yourself,” she concludes.

Arriving at Jun Yuan Farm in Nantou’s Lugu Township, owned by Liao Yousheng, we see the land overgrown with vegetation. This scene is due entirely to efforts to protect the leopard cat.

The TBRI program of “leopard-cat friendly” labels for crops encourages farmers to allow wild plants to grow and to retain open spaces, while it bars them from using any inputs that are harmful to wild animals and from allowing dogs or domestic cats to run free. The goal is to provide leopard cats and other wildlife with a safe and open living environment. The best evidence of the program’s success at creating wildlife-friendly habitats is the bite marks on leafy vegetables. Bending down, Liao uses a small sickle to carefully harvest his vegetables, picking and choosing as he goes, and he leaves virtually half of them in the fields. This produce, grown without pesticides, can be eaten without being washed, and its delicious taste is the best repayment Liao receives for his determination to protect the land.

At his Zhanggui Fruit Orchard in Nantou’s Zhushan Township, which likewise is certified to use the “leopard-cat friendly” label, Wu Pitai mainly grows lemons. In this little orchard, located in hilly country, weeds grow up to calf length and Spanish needles flourish, attracting many butterflies and bees. Wu explains that the weeds certainly attract numerous insects, but they eat their fill amid the wild vegetation and don’t approach the lemon trees, letting all his lemons grow into beautiful fruit.

As for the irrepressible mikania vine, Wu says casually: “I just pull them out with my hands, and if I don’t get them all before they seed, then so be it.” Even though he suffers heavy losses, he still hopes that in the future he can reduce his use of inputs even further. He says: “You have to let go of any trees that are too weak to survive, so that there can be ecological balance.”

The determination of farmers like Liao Yousheng and Wu Pitai to protect the environment, and the way that the crops harvested by leopard-cat friendly farms like the Jiji Banana fruit farm are packed in specially marked fruit and vegetable boxes produced by Banana Fiber Weave Cultural Industries, all stem from the hope that ordinary people, through their purchases, can preserve a place where leopard cats can survive in the wild.

Lin Yu-hsiu points out that the leopard cat “Douzao,” which was released into the wild after being rescued as a kitten, recently was photographed in the vicinity of an orchard that is certified as leopard-cat friendly, which is the best evidence that the “leopard-cat friendly” label is working. She says: “We get a great deal back from the leopard cats.”

This is by no means the last word in leopard-cat conservation, for the cat still faces countless known and unknown risks. Indeed, the whole environment is under threat. Only if the people who live on this land continue to protect them can these adorable creatures of the foothills once again have a space where they can thrive.

Against the advice of his neighbors, Wu Pitai, owner of Zhanggui Fruit Orchard, insists on allowing wild plants to cover the ground around his fruit trees.

Stepping on wild vegetation, Liao Yousheng of Jun Yuan Farm checks on how well his crops are growing.

There is still much to do before efforts to protect the leopard cat will be successful enough to enable its population to grow. (courtesy of LCAT)

The Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute uses classes and public awareness campaigns to educate local communities about the leopard cat. (courtesy of TBRI)

After being released into the wild, the rescued leopard cat Douzao headed south along a ridgeline. Recently she has been discovered living near a leopard-cat-friendly farm in Nantou County. (photo by Wang Weixiang, courtesy of TBRI)