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Caption: Photograph taken from a National Geographic documentary, Night Hunters Taiwan Grass Owls, sponsored by Wistron Foundation.
Summer is the pineapple season. Have you eaten pineapples this year?
Pineapples grow in soil at ground level. They often fall prey to pests such as rodents. Rodents are attracted to pineapples, especially before harvesting because pineapple flower buds are tasty and sweet. Farmers usually use rodenticides to kill rodents.
However, use of rodenticides not only kills off rodents, but also poses a danger to other animal species.
Why is that the case? Rodents that are poisoned by rodenticides may be captured by other wildlife species, such as diurnal black kite, black-winged kite, and crested goshawk, or nocturnal owls. The rodenticide ingested by rodents will end up poisoning these birds.
Therefore, the NPUST Bird Ecology Lab has set up rapture perches and owl nestboxes across the pineapple field in Gaoshu Township in Pingtung County, so as to attract raptors to capture rodents, which in turn enriches the ecosystem and promotes an environmentally friendly method to grow pineapples.
Lin Hui Shan, a researcher working in the NPUST Bird Ecology Lab, said that her team has set up 6 rapture perches and 39 nestboxes throughout Goashu Township. The perches can be used by both diurnal and nocturnal species, while the nestboxes are made especially for nocturnal owls, particularly collared scops owls. Both the perches and nestboxes will generate a synergistic effect.
How did the research team convince pineapple farmers to convert their pineapple field into a habitat for raptors? How did they reduce rodent infestation without using rodenticides? Listen to our Podcast on our visits to A-Jiu Pineapple Farm and Tai-shan Elementary School in Gaoshu Township, Pingtung County to discover the birth of Xiao Wang Lai pineapple cakes!
Podcast on demand