Conservationist balances needs of farmers and endangered leopard cats

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• published: 07 Jan 2015
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In Miaoli County a conservationist is helping lead an effort to restore leopard cat populations. Among the biggest steps she has made is encouraging farmers to use environmentally friendly practices as a way of ensuring safe habitats and food sources for the endangered species. To see a leopard cat in the wild, you typically need to visit a special conservation area. It helps to have a guide.Chen Mei-ting has taken a special interest in wild cats. After graduating from university with a history degree, she soon switched gears and began studying wildlife conservation in graduate school.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistWhen I began graduate studies in wildlife conservation, Taiwan only had two species of wild cats. One was the Formosan clouded leopard and the other was the leopard cat. No one had seen the clouded leopard in a long time, so I decided to study the leopard cat.The leopard cat is adaptable to different environments and can pass through areas covered in gravel or cement. But it prefers to stay where people are rarely seen. It may travel along dirt roads and is difficult to spot.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistThe leopard cat typically avoids the daytime and moves about from dusk to dawn. Its night vision and sense of smell are much better than ours. When it senses people, its immediate instinct is to hide, so it can be difficult to spot a leopard cat.The leopard cat’s nocturnal nature and alertness mean surveillance cameras are typically needed to capture its image.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistWhen doing our research, we look for feces. This tells us what type of animals are in the area and lets us know what the animals ate.Leopard cat feces indicate popular routes that the animals travel upon. If one is fortunate enough to collect fresh feces, it tells researchers about leopard cat DNA.In the past, when leopard cats were caught in traps or poisoned, they were often delivered to Chen. She would rehabilitate the animals then release them back into the wild, but not until she had recorded their vital details and affixed them with radio transmitters. Even with this tracking equipment, leopard cats continued to be elusive.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistUsing a radio transmitter to track the cats can tell us how many meters away they are, but they’re still difficult to locate.The leopard cat is quite active, making it hard for Chen to trace them even when using a radio transmitter. Sometimes, when she returns to a place where she released a leopard cat, they may appear when they hear her call. Unfortunately, one leopard cat which responded to her call has since disappeared. Chen did find the remote transmitter, leading her to fear that this leopard cat was captured.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistEvery time one disappears, I feel like giving up. But my friends encourage me to continue because there are too few people doing this wildlife research.To encourage locals to join the conservation effort, Chen taught farmers about the benefits. This even led to the creation of “leopard cat rice.”Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistWhat is “leopard cat rice?” It is rice that has been cultivated in an environmentally friendly way. Only this type of rice qualifies for the special leopard cat rice designation.No toxins are used in cultivating this rice to ensure that the mice and rabbits that eat it are healthy. These animals are an important food source for the leopard cat. Chen invited an organic agriculture promotion foundation to teach local farmers about toxin-free rice cultivation. But the transition to organic farming wasn’t always as smooth as anticipated.Hsu Hsin-kaiCommunity Re-development DirectorOf course there have been challenges. First many elders laughed at us and said we wouldn’t be able to achieve a harvest.Su Mu-rongOrganic Foundation DirectorBefore they sprayed weed killer. This isn’t too difficult to change, but if we don’t spray anymore, the weeds have to be pulled by hand. The farmers said it was difficult and tiring. Sometimes they felt so fatigued that they sought treatment.Chen Mei-tingLeopard Cat ConservationistThis led me to think of how good some people are. I can’t just speak from the position of the wildlife. I also need to think about these farmers. And I want to clarify that there hasn’t been any conflict. We are trying to find a balance point.Farmers willing to pursue organic farming hope that leopard cat rice will not only help this endangered animal but also win over consumers. It’s a win-win situation that can balance the environment and local communities. It may also save the leopard cat from extinction.