West Lake Resort’s “Valley of Forgetfulness Hiking Trail” Yields Sightings of Six Endangered Species

 ▲ Due to excessive environmental development, there are now fewer than 500 leopard cats left in Taiwan. (Photo / Provided by the Endemic Species Research Institute)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

Good news！ Inside West Lake Resort in Miaoli County, it has been reported that six endangered protected animal species, including the leopard cat, were spotted along the Valley of Forgetfulness Hiking Trail. The resort not only confirmed this news but also stated that it will strengthen ecological conservation efforts in this area in the future.

The Valley of Forgetfulness Hiking Trail at West Lake Resort is approximately 1.5 kilometers long. Due to minimal human development, it retains a relatively intact natural ecological environment. According to a report by the Liberty Times, when researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute visited the trail to study bloodvine plants, resort staff provided suspected leopard cat feces. After testing, it was confirmed to indeed belong to the leopard cat. To observe the movements of the leopard cats, the conservation center installed three motion-triggered cameras along the trail between April and May, yielding unexpected results.

The three cameras not only captured images of the leopard cat but also documented other protected, endangered species such as the Formosan ferret-badger, masked palm civet, pangolin, Taiwan partridge (also known as the mountain bamboo partridge), and Mikado pheasant moving through the forest. Moreover, footage showed two different leopard cats, much to the delight of the conservation center staff.

The conservation center stated that in the future, it will work with West Lake Resort to enhance ecological maintenance along the Valley of Forgetfulness Hiking Trail and implement nighttime access controls. At the same time, through environmental and ecological education provided by the resort, visitors will be encouraged to help protect the habitat so these precious species can continue to thrive and reproduce here.

% Video showing the observation of six protected animal species. Video sourced from YouTube. Please excuse if removed.