Shei-Pa National Park
Xueshan, the tallest peak in Shei-Pa National Park (SPNP), is only some 105 kilometers away from Yushan as the crow flies, but the two parks have markedly different landscapes and historic sites.
Unlike Yushan National Park, which has relatively uniform terrain, with major valleys running north to south, the terrain in SPNP is far more varied. Although more than 20,000 hectares smaller than YSNP, it has 51 peaks that surpass 3000 meters, and complex topography that includes glacial cirques, cliffs, fold mountains, and caves with stalactites. The vegetation types range from broadleaf woodland at low altitudes to alpine tundra at the highest elevations. The park is home to rare plants and animals that are relict species from the ice ages, including the Taiwan sassafras tree and the Formosan landlocked salmon. SPNP also boasts other rare and protected plants and animals including Draba sekiyana (a species of whitlow-grass, in the mustard family), over ten endemic bird species, the broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly, and the Taiwan lesser salamander.
The park rangers at SPNP are all Atayal indigenous people who live in the local area. They were born and grew up in the mountains, and respect them. “The Atayal people seem to have a mysterious and close relationship with Shei-Pa,” says Hu Ching-cheng, a specialist in the Recreation Service Section of SPNP Headquarters. “They have a kind of intuition, as if they are part of the mountains.”
For the Atayal, the mountains are a place where sacred ancestral spirits dwell, and before setting off among the crags rangers will intone a prayer in the Atayal language. “Basically the meaning of the prayer is to ask the ancestral spirits for their protection to ensure the safety of the journey,” says ranger Tumas.
SPNP, which was established in 1992, currently has only three recreational areas open to the public, each with its own special character: Guanwu in the northwest, Wuling in the northeast, and Xuejian in the west. Most of the rest of the park is made up of protected ecological reserves, with continuous successions of hard-to-reach peaks. Aside from designated routes open to hikers, there is virtually no human activity here. This is why rangers always patrol in pairs so they can look after each other.
The Atayal people live in piedmont benchland and river terraces on the periphery of SPNP, at elevations from 1000 to 1500 meters. They include a group of young people, such as Isa Baunay, Tumas, and Wu Ren-jie, who have chosen to return to the mountains and search for their roots through gaga (the ancestral teachings and traditional social norms of the Atayal people).
Relying on their experience and the traditional wisdom of the indigenous peoples, they have become frontline defenders of SPNP. They prevent rare trees from being illegally felled, track wildlife movements using infrared cameras, observe the health of wild animals, gather data on plants and animals for research purposes, remove illegal traps and snares, assist with the release of Formosan landlocked salmon fry, patrol waterways and riverbeds, and help visitors who get into trouble in the mountains.
When patrolling the two-thirds of Shei-Pa National Park that are protected ecological reserves, rangers often have to camp out overnight. They carry full gear and always travel in teams of two to look out for each other.
Besides knowing the topography and environment, Shei-Pa rangers also need to understand the local ecosystems. From left to right: Wu Ren-jie, Tumas, and Isa Baunay.
Part of the root plate of a Taiwan red cypress, left exposed when the tree was cut down long ago. From it you can see how enormous the old tree was.