The Taiwan sika deer (Cervus nippon taiouanus) migrated to the island during land-bridge periods (40,000 to 10,000 years before present), presumably from an adjacent mainland China stock that later became extinct. On Taiwan they were found mainly at low elevation habitats around the island and reached greatest abundance on the large western coastal plain. They were heavily exploited during the European colonial period, serving as currency and export items for international trade and, consequently, disappeared early from all but the more remote parts of their historic range. At the same time, their habitat was usurped for agricultural development. Exploitation for subsistence and velvet antler for the Chinese medicine market continued on the remote remnant pockets of survivors until the last known sika deer in the wild was killed in 1969. Fortunately there were many sika in private ownership, including stocks at the Taipei Zoo and on Green Island off the east coast of Taiwan. Establishment of a captive breeding facility at Kenting National Park at the southern tip of the island, stocked mainly with animals from the Taipei Zoo, resulted in increased numbers, and the eventual release of deer to the wild where they now number around 400 head (Pei chapter 38). A separate release of sika deer from captivity on Green Island has resulted in a second free-roaming population of several hundred animals. Although not now seriously threatened with extinction, to achieve full recovery it is desirable to establish a third population in the central or northern part of the island further removed from the two existing wild populations.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Literature Cited
Chen, C.-L. 1968. Material culture of the Formosan aborigines. The Taiwan Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Chiang, S. S. 1987. The relationship between sika deer and early Taiwan history. Pages 2–24 in The 1985 annual report of the Formosan sika deer restoration study. Conservation Research Report Number 38, Kenting National Park, Taiwan. (In Chinese.)
Davidson, J. W. 1903. The island of Formosa: Historical view from 1430 to 1900. Macmillan, New York, New York, USA
Eu, H. H. T. 1969. Forest recreation and wildlife conservation in Taiwan. Forest and Forest Industry Development Project, Republic of China, Taipei, Taiwan
Hirth, F., and W. W. Rockhill. 1966. Chau Ju-Kua: his work on the Chinese and Arab trade in the twelfth and thirteen centuries entitled Cu-tan-Chi. Paragon Book Reprint Corporation, New York, New York, USA
Ho, C. S. 1986. A synthesis of the geologic evolution of Taiwan. Tectonphysics 125:1–16
Ho, C.-K., G.-Q. Qi, and C.-H. Chang. 1997. A preliminary study of the late Pleistocene carnivore fossils from the Penghu Channel, Taiwan. Annual of the Taiwan Museum 40:195–224
Hsia, L. C. 1990. Feeding behavior of deer. Pages 49–73 in 1998 Sika Deer Restoration Report Kenting National Park, Taiwan
Hsieh, C.-M. 1964. Taiwan—Ilha Formosa: A geography in perspective. Butterworth, London, United Kingdom
Hu, C.-H., and H.-J. Tao. 1993. Monograph of fossil fauna in Penghu Peninsula. Culture Center of Penghu Hsien, Penghu, Taiwan. (In Chinese.)
Kano, T. 1940. Zoogeographical studies of the Tsugitaka Mountains of Formosa. Shibusawa Institute of Ethnographic Research, Tokyo, Japan
Kenting National Park. 1984. The 1984 annual report of the Formosan sika deer restoration study. Conservation Research Report Number 18, Kenting National Park, Taiwan
Kuo, T.-Y. 1973. Early stages of the Sinicization of Taiwan. Pages 21–29 in P. K. T. Sih, editor, Taiwan in modern times. Asia in the modern world series Number 13, St. John's University Press, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Kuroda, N. 1952. Mammalogical history of Formosa, with zoogeography and bibliography. Quarterly Journal of the Taiwan Museum 5:267–304
Lee, S.-W. 1981. Landslides in Taiwan. Pages 195–206 in South East Regional Symposium on Problems of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation. January 27–29, 1981, Bangkok, Thailand
Liew, P.-M., C.-M. Kuo, S.-Y. Huang, and M.-H. Tseng. 1998. Vegetation change and terrestrial carbon storage in eastern Asia during the last glacial maximum as indicated by a new pollen record from central Taiwan. Global and Planetary Change 16–17:85–94
Liu, H. Y. 1992. Study of the released sika deer on Green Island. East Coast Scenic Area, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Taiwan. (In Chinese.)
MacKay, G. L. 1895. From far Formosa: The island, its people, and missions. Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, New York, USA
McCullough, D. R. 1974. Status of the larger mammals in Taiwan. Tourism Bureau, Taipei, Taiwan
McCullough, D. R., and L. L. Severinghaus. 1998. Recovery program for the endangered Taiwan sika deer. Pages 177–184 in Z. Zomborszky, editor, Advances in deer biology. Proceedings ofthe 4th International Deer Biology Congress, Kaposvar, Hungary
Patel, A. D., and Y.-S. Lin. 1988. History of wildlife conservation in Taiwan. Zoology Department, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Patel, A. D., and Y.-S. Lin. 1989. Zoology council on agriculture. Forestry Series No. 20, Taipei, Taiwan
Roy, D. 2003. Taiwan: A political history. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA
Ruhle, G. C. 1966. Advisory report on national parks for Taiwan 1965. American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, Special Publication Number 19, Bronx, New York, USA
Severinghaus, L. L. 1989. Natural Resources. Pages 49–127 in The Steering Committee for Taiwan 2000 Study, Taiwan 2000. Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Severinghaus, L. L., and D. R. McCullough. 1996. A comprehensive review of the sika deer restoration program in Taiwan. Report to Yangminshan National Park, Taiwan, ROC. (In Chinese and English.)
Su, H. J. 1985. Vegetation analysis on the native habitat of Formosan sika deer and proposal of its reintroduction area in Kenting National Park. The 1984 Annual Report of the Sika Deer Restoration Study, Conservation Research Report 18:63–101. Kenting National Park, Taiwan ROC
Taiwan Provincial Forestry Bureau. 1995. The third forest resources and land use inventory in Taiwan. Taiwan Provincial Forestry Bureau, Taiwan, ROC
Wang, Y. 1991. Current status of Formosan sika deer restoration program. Pages 277–288 in Lin, Y. S. K.-H. Chang, editors, Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Wildlife Conservation. Council on Agriculture Forestry Series Number 39, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
Wilson, R. L. 2000. An investigation into the phylogeography of sika deer (Cervus nippon) using microsatellite markers. M. Sc. Thesis, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Wayre, P. 1969. Wildlife in Taiwan. Oryx 10:46–56
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McCullough, D.R. (2009). Sika Deer in Taiwan. In: McCullough, D.R., Takatsuki, S., Kaji, K. (eds) Sika Deer. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-09429-6_37
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-09429-6_37
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-09428-9
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-09429-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)