Flora and Fauna
Taiwan, with the tropic of Cancer across the center of the island, has a climate between tropical and subtropical. The average temperature is 22 °C (72 °F). Here low elevation areas support evergreen broadleaved forests. As elevation increases, evergreen broadleaved forests are gradually replaced by deciduous forests and coniferous forests. At mountain peaks with alpine conditions, only mosses, liverworts and occasionally grasses can be found on the ground.
All of the above vegetation variations can be seen in the Yushan area from low foothills to high summits with an elevation difference of 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi). Because this wide climatic and vegetation variations, this environment nurtures the richest and most diversified wildlife in Taiwan. Preliminary investigations reveal that there are 130 species of birds, 28 species of mammals, 17 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians and 186 species of butterflies in Yushan National Park. In fact, Yushan is nicknamed "the ark" by academics who see it as a repository of Taiwan's rare species. It is almost an encyclopedia of Taiwan's ecological systems, a geological museum and an important habitat of one-third of Taiwan's endemic species, such as:
- Formosan Serow (台灣長鬃山羊)
- Reeves's Muntjac (台灣山羌)
- Formosan Black Bear (台灣黑熊)
- Formosan Blue Magpie (台灣藍鵲)
- Formosan Rock Macaque (台灣獼猴)
- Hemimyzon taitungensis (台東間爬岩鰍) and Varicorhinus tamusuiensis (Oshima) – Two unique fish species living in the Lekuleku River area.
Read more about this topic: Yushan (mountain)
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