Yesterday we spent the majority of the day at the Endemic Species Research Institute. This research institute’s main focus is to collect specimens of the wildlife of Taiwan for the purpose of promoting biodiversity education.  Because of this goal, the majority of their collection is preserved in a taxidermic style designed for display.   This is unlike the flattened specimens that are collected for scientific research and classification/taxonomy.  Their storage room is maintained at a constant cool temperature and low humidity in order to better preserve the specimens, and the space is maximized by using a system of movable cabinets that do not have permanent aisles in between them. 

We were also able to visit the wildlife clinic that is located within the institute.  The clinic cares for approximately six hundred patients per year, 80% of which are birds.  Some of the birds that are not able to fully recovered and be released are kept in captivity and used as “ambassadors” to help educate people about how they can help prevent wildlife injury and what they can do if they find an injured animal.  They had the most adorable owl I have ever seen.  He was only about seven inches tall, and had lost one wing when the power pole that his nest was in was pulled down.  One of the other chicks in the nest with him was able to be rehabilitated and released, while the mother owl and one other chick were killed instantly.

The room where all incoming patients are evaluated

Operation room

The special exhibition at the institute was on moths.  The main themes of the exhibit were the diversity of moths in Taiwan (~4000 species), and the relationship between humans and moths.

This picture is made entirely from moth wings.  Thousands of moths would have been killed to produce it.

The large moth in the center is the Deadhead moth (used in Silence of the Lambs)

We also had a lecture about the bats of Taiwan.  There are around 1000 species of bats in the entire world; Taiwan has 35 species.  70% percent of bat species are insectivores, 20% feed on nectar and fruits, a few eat small animals such as fish and frogs, and three species are vampire bats (feed on blood).  There are three categories of roosts that bats live in, which include trees, caves, and buildings.  One thing I found interesting is that western culture typically associates evil or bad connotations with bats, while eastern culture considers bats to be a sign of good luck.  Our lecturer brought in an adorable little bat for us to see, and even let him fly around the room.  Two cute animals in one day!  Unfortunately, none of my bat pictures turned out very well.

After all of our tours and lectures at the institute, we went across the street to see the site of an old school that is now used as a temple.  The architecture was pretty, and there was a good garden as well.  It was a place rich with photogenic character.

  

 After this little visit, we made another side trip to a temple ruin.  The temple was severely damaged by an earthquake around thirteen years ago, and instead of tearing it down, they decided to leave it as a tourist attraction.

Our final destination for the day was NTU’s Phoenix Tea Farm.  Our rooms there were more like closets with beds stuffed in them, but the space outside the rooms was a large balcony with many benches and picnic tables.  For the first time in a long time we didn’t have any scheduled activities after dinner.  Since there was no air conditioning in the rooms and the weather at the 800 meters elevation at the tea farm was quite nice, everyone stayed out on the balcony for a long time.  Jack brought out his guitar, so for a while there was singing.  Most of the songs he knew were in Chinese, but they still sounded really good.  It was really nice to be able to have a few hours just to relax together, especially after a long day of lectures.

Looking back on the day it is odd because there were a lot of cool or cute things that we saw, but there was also a lot of not very exciting things in between.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have been going so long now that our patience for guided tours and group travel is wearing thin.  Personally, there are some phrases that get used so frequently that they are getting on my nerves.  I think this was especially apparent this afternoon.  The relaxing evening helped to relieve some of the tension at least.