Leopard cats - Saving our children of the low-lying mountains

At this year's Double Ten National Day celebration, a leopard cat float in the parade stole much of the limelight; however, in reality, the leopard cat is an endangered species in Taiwan. In an attempt to save the increasingly rare leopard cat, Zhusen Community in Miaoli County has been encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming with the aim of providing a friendlier environment in which the leopard has a chance to survive.  

Seventy years ago, the leopard cat was a common sight in the low-lying mountains of Miaoli. Today, however, due to changes in the environment, it is a protected animal on the verge of extinction. Slightly larger than domestic cats, leopard cats generally forage at night for a wide selection of prey including rats and squirrels, etc. and so without leopard cats, farmers will be forced to use even greater quantities of pesticides to control rodents, which will ultimately harm ourselves.

以下為中英文對照

搶救淺山之子 石虎

在今年雙十國慶花車遊行中，石虎花車搶盡風頭。但在現實中，石虎卻是瀕臨絕種的保育類動物。苗栗縣的竹森社區，為了搶救日益稀少的石虎，推廣農民採用無毒有機農業耕作，希望提供一個友善的環境，讓石虎可以在這裡生存。

七十年前石虎在台灣苗栗山區是普遍可見的物種， 但由於環境的變遷，石虎卻成了瀕臨滅面絕的保育類動物。石虎的體型比家貓略大，大多是夜間出來活動覓食，獵物包括老鼠、松鼠等等，如果沒有石虎，農作就要用更多農藥老鼠藥來滅鼠，最終人類也會受害。

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