In early August last year, the management office of Shei-Pa National Park collaborated with Associate Professor Chen Yi-Ning from Chung Yuan Christian University to conduct a survey, resulting in the capture of the Asian parti-colored bat (Vespertilio sinensis) for the first time in 18 years. This significant find has sparked excitement among researchers, as it was previously believed that this species had vanished from Taiwan.
The results of last year's bat survey were notably fruitful, revealing not only the asian parti-colored bat but also the rare and protected Formosan tailless leaf-nosed bat (Coelops frithii). The ecological team was thrilled by these discoveries. The park had previously conducted a two-year bat population survey in the Guanwu area starting in 2008 and has been monitoring bat species diversity since 2012.
During the recent survey, researchers captured a juvenile male asian parti-colored bat and fitted it with a wing tag before releasing it back into the wild. According to the management office, Taiwan appears to be at the southernmost limit of the asian parti-colored bat's distribution. The first recorded instance of this species in Taiwan was a dead male found in 1952 in Dongshi, Taichung City. After that, there were no captures for over half a century until a female asian parti-colored bat was caught in 2006 by a team led by Professor Lin Liang-Kung from Tunghai University at the Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area.
In July 2010, a colony of approximately 700 asian parti-colored bats was discovered in an abandoned chimney at a naval fuel depot in Hsinchu City. This colony consisted mainly of pregnant females, which migrate to this location around April each year and leave before autumn. Their wintering grounds remain unknown.
The Guanwu area is situated upstream of the Touqian River and has no significant barriers separating it from Hsinchu City. Both captures of asian parti-colored bats occurred in August, prompting ongoing monitoring by the management office to determine whether these bats migrate to higher altitudes for winter or if Shei-Pa National Park serves as their winter habitat.
Additionally, in 2009, the management office constructed Taiwan's first large bat house in the Xuejian Visitor Center. Last year, survey personnel set up infrared automatic cameras and recorded several Formosan tailless leaf-nosed bats entering and exiting at night. These bats utilized the bat house as a resting station during foraging breaks. Observations showed them hanging upside down with one foot grasping the ceiling while using the other foot for grooming and resting.
The Formosan tailless leaf-nosed bat is Taiwan's only protected insectivorous bat species, characterized by its low population numbers and limited distribution. It primarily inhabits natural caves or abandoned military bunkers and tunnels at low elevations. Both Guanwu and Xuejian areas report minimal annual survey records, indicating they may represent the upper limits of vertical distribution for this species.
The management office continues to monitor these areas to better understand how these rare bats utilize their habitats and contribute to biodiversity conservation efforts within Taiwan.
