Makeshift conservation area built for endangered owlets found in Chiayi

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said Saturday it had built a makeshift conservation area to protect four endangered owlets discovered in Chiayi earlier this week.

According to the agency, staffers at its Chiayi branch have fenced off the area of grassland where the Australasian grass owls were found on Thursday to protect the nestlings from predators and other threats.

The agency said it knew the endangered owls frequented the vast grasslands used by a livestock research institute based at the Chiayi branch and had been monitoring the endangered species' activities since 2021 with a view to building a conservation area.

While it was originally thought that the owls would nest on the southern part of the grasslands, the institute now will also center its conservation efforts on the area around the protective fence in the north, said Huang Chen-fang (黃振芳), who heads the livestock research institute.