Stray Buffaloes Cause Damage to Farms in Taipei City

TaiwanPlus News

Extreme weather has forced water buffaloes to leave Taipei's Yangmingshan National Park this winter, causing problems for local farmers as they gobble up their crops.

Transcript

00:00Stray water buffaloes wandering down the streets of Pingtung Village in Taipei City.

00:05The scene has become common recently,

00:07as extreme weather forces the animals to leave their territory in Yamingshan National Park.

00:12This usually happens when there is a sudden drop in temperature or continuous rain.

00:18The arrival of the animals has raised concerns among local residents.

00:22They worry about the safety of the people and their farms.

00:26It's not that we don't like the buffaloes.

00:28We are just afraid that they might cause damage to the farm.

00:31And the buffaloes don't have a home in the farm.

00:34In the past year, there were more than 270 buffaloes in Kaoli Village.

00:39In just one night, one buffalo was killed.

00:42To prevent the buffaloes from causing problems,

00:44the park is giving farmers subsidies to install electric fences.

00:50The park is also working on protective measures,

01:03repairing old cattle sheds and providing hay and salt licks for the animals.

01:07The park says these efforts have successfully encouraged the water buffaloes to stay,

01:12making it less likely they will wander down the mountain.

01:15In winter, we try to provide them with enough food and water.

01:22The water buffaloes aren't suited to living in Yamingshan National Park.

01:26Farmers brought them there in the 1900s to graze during fallow periods,

01:30and now experts are working to find them a better home.

01:34Until then, the park can only do so much

01:36to encourage its water buffaloes to be good neighbors to the local residents.

01:40Chris Ma and Sunny Chi for Taiwan Plus.

01:45For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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