After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s once again the active season for hornets. On the 18th, two hiking groups were attacked by swarms of hornets while climbing Shentai Mountain in Shitan and Jiangmaya Leisure Agriculture Area in Dahu, resulting in 14 people being stung. Fortunately, all those sent to the hospital are in stable condition. The hikers were still shaken after escaping danger, and firefighters were kept busy all morning dealing with the hornet attacks.
The Miaoli County Fire Department received a report at around 9:38 a.m. yesterday that tourists who had entered the mountain through the Xianshan Trailhead in Shitan Township and were heading toward Shentai Mountain at the border of Nanzhuang and Sanwan were attacked by hornets, with several people stung. The Third Disaster Relief and Ambulance Brigade quickly mobilized a large number of personnel to set up an advance command post at Linding Palace in Xianshan and sent teams into the mountain to carry out search and rescue operations, rescuing the injured hikers one after another.
Injured hiker Song Qiwen said the first sting was on his ear, which swelled up, and he felt uncomfortable all over. Another injured hiker, Xie Rongfeng, said she was stung more than ten times all over her body, had a splitting headache, and felt extremely unwell.
Song Qiwen said that they are members of the Taoyuan City Evergreen Mountaineering Association, planning to climb Qilai Mountain next week, and came to Shentai Mountain this week for pre-trip training. Unexpectedly, after just walking halfway, the group of 31 was attacked by a swarm of hornets. Everyone scattered in different directions and were rescued from the Shitan and Nanzhuang trailheads. The hikers said that about 20 people were stung, with nine of them in more serious condition and sent to the hospital.
Before all the hikers on Shentai Mountain were rescued and brought down the mountain, at around 11:10 a.m., five hikers were also stung in Jiangmaya Leisure Agriculture Area at the junction of Dahu and Sanyi. The fire department urgently dispatched ambulances from nearby Gongguan and Tongluo to transport the five to Miaoli Daqian Hospital, where they were given detoxifying injections.
Miaoli is a mountainous area, and it is currently the active season for hornets after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Hikers may not necessarily touch a hornet nest but could still provoke the swarm and get attacked. Ecologists believe that autumn is the “make-or-break season” for hornets, making them even more aggressive, so hikers must be cautious.
The Taipei City Fire Department said yesterday that due to fewer typhoons this year, the hornet population has grown steadily, and hornets have started storing food for hibernation. In the past month and a half, the fire department has handled over 1,500 hornet-related cases, 400 more than the same period last year. The department urged the public to stay away from hornet nests as soon as they are spotted. The fire department stated that hornets are attracted to bright colors or scents, so it is advised that hikers avoid wearing overly bright clothing or using anti-perspiration or deodorant perfumes in the fall to prevent attacks. Victims who suffer allergic reactions due to hornet proteins may experience dangerous drops in blood pressure or shock, so being stung should be avoided as much as possible.