Formosa Fauna

Xiaoliuqiu is Taiwan’s only offshore coral reef island. Which of the following is true about it? a) You can be imprisoned for up to one year for touching a sea turtle on Xiaoliuqiu b) Xiaoliuqiu is a tourist paradise known for its attractions allowing tourists to interact with sea turtles Keep listening to find out. Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both i...

Which of the following is true: A) A shark is stuck in a canal in South Korea B) New York City passes a law to end horse-drawn carriages C) Taiwan search and rescue dogs place at the world championships D) All of the above Keep listening to find out. Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this ep...

Which of the following is not real: A) Climbing fish B) Tofu cat litter C) Bone-eating birds D) None of the above. They’re all real. The answer is D. Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fun facts about the animal kingdom so you can become smarter than...

What is a climbing perch? A) A fish B) A frog C) A bird Sharks have been around for 450 million years. Even cockroaches have only been around for 300 million years. Homo sapiens, on the other hand, have just a 300,000 year history. What makes sharks so special? What kind of shark did divers in Taiwan run into last month? And how can you survive a scary shark encounter? Formosa Fauna is back this w...

How do you think researchers tell whale sharks apart? A) Echolocation frequencies B) 24/7 monitoring C) Spots on their bodies A report of suspected coral harvesting has prompted an investigation at a popular diving site in Kenting National Park after a diving instructor said he saw another diver collecting coral underwater. Another beluga whale has died after being transferred from a closed Canadi...

Is coral plant or animal? Taiwan's coral reef communities make up one-third of the world's variety of species. Of the 700 species of stony corals on the planet, 250 can be found along the nation's coast. Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fun facts ab...

Which is the most important sense for schools of fish? A) Sight B) Sound C) Touch Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fun facts about the animal kingdom so you can become smarter than all of your friends. In this episode we talk all about the first new...

Which of the following was used as currency by people in medieval England, even making it on to some of the family crests? A) Shells B) Rats C) Eels Keep listening to Formosa Fauna to find out. (Hint! It's not A.) Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fu...

Which is the mantra of wildlife experts? A) "A fed bear is a dead bear." B) "A hungry bear is a dead bear." Keep listening to Formosa Fauna to find out. In this episode Tristan shares about "Keelung Port," the cat who's about to be adopted, and the dangers of adopting to people we meet online. Also, the case of Wang Wang the dog and her puppies prompts an outpouring of support for stricter animal...

How many eggs do you think a mature female green iguana can lay in a single clutch? A) 10-20 B) 30-40 C) 70-80 D) 100-120 Kaohsiung is set to change the way it tackles its growing population of invasive green iguanas, with the city government planning to offer vouchers for qualifying adult iguanas removed by trained members of the public. Beloved actress Hayden Panettiere was more than a celebrity...

A man in the U.K. this week found a three-foot snake curled up in his: A) Toilet B) Bed C) Couch Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out which! In this episode: - Illegal ring-tailed lemur trafficking in New Taipei - Premature orangutan at Taipei Zoo - Snake found in a scary place - 11-year-old boy killed by rabies infection - Vet in U.S. performs wrong surgery on dog Formosa Fauna is...

Xiaohua, a 50+ pound dog, sat for years in Taiwan waiting for someone to adopt her. Finally, someone indicated they were interested, but they were in the United States. Once she got there, the team involved gave her an English name: Boba. With a milk-tea-colored coat and dark brown stripes like tapioca bubbles or brown sugar, "Boba" is the perfect name to let people know she comes from Taiwan, hom...

What business does an American family have adopting a Taiwanese dog? Well, they have several stellar reasons to adopt this dog, Xiaohua. Tristan pumps the breaks on the usual fun facts and animal news for this episode to bring you her personal account of being a "flight volunteer," also referred to by some as "flight guardian." Between Super Typhoon Bavi, a 14-hour flight, and staying in a less-th...

Which of the following has their own cleaning salons and massage parlors in the sea? A) One kind of fish B) One kind of octopus C) A human Only one of those has them. Well... maybe two. Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out which! Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode...

How many native feline species does Taiwan have? Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fun facts about the animal kingdom so you can become smarter than all of your friends. Want to share your own story and have it read on air? Send your story (photos we...

Which of the following is not a real animal? A) Taiwanese blue frog B) Taiwanese white dolphin C) Pheasant-tailed jacana Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episode and feeding your noggin with fun facts about the animal kingdom so you can become smarter than all of your friends. Want to...

The geography cone, as one type of cone snail is called, delivers a numbing tickle followed by swift paralysis of the diaphragm leading to suffocation. There is no anti-venom, because conotoxins are far too complex for that. Cone snails produce tens of thousands of unique chemicals between them. Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad!...

Animal welfare groups delivered a petition bearing 50,000 signatures to Taiwan’s Presidential Office on Saturday, urging authorities to completely prohibit large-caliber metal snares used to catch wild boars. According to UDN, the devices have ensnared 31 endangered Formosan black bears over the past five years, resulting in nine deaths. During the last three years, nine leopard cats were also cau...

Which of the following is not true about the coelacanth, a kind of fish? a) Nobody has ever found a fossil younger than 66 million years old b) They don’t reach maturity until at least 40 years old c) They have a lifespan of 40 years old Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out! In this episode: - Uncovering the diets of Kinmen's Eurasian Otters - Extinct for 66 million years? The coela...

The necropsy results are in for the recently deceased 16-year-old New York City working horse Deniz. Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out more. In this episode: - What caused Deniz's death - Stranded Risso’s dolphin is transported for treatment in Taiwan - Taiwan’s coastal fisheries are catching more immature fish - Rehabilitated birds of prey released in Kinmen successfully complet...

Which of the following is not true? (A) A buffalo has been spared from Islamic sacrifice due to its resemblance to Donald Trump (B) You should always play dead when encountering a bear Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out! In this episode: - Donald Trump the albino buffalo - Fishermen free whale sharks in Taiwan - Multiple bear attacks in the U.S. - How to defend against bear attack...

Which of the following is not true? (A) Taiwan has zero heavily polluted beaches as of June (B) A carriage horse in NYC dropped dead this week (C) A teenager stabbed three rodeo horses in a Las Vegas barn early June Listen to this episode of Formosa Fauna to find out! In this episode: - Punch the macaque's enclosure invaded in Japan - Taiwan's most polluted beaches - Carriage horses in New York Ci...

The first time humans had close encounters with electricity was from the tingle and jolt of electric fish. In this episode: - International Eurasian otter symposium - Sea turtle stranded in Changhua - Electric torpedo rays - Excessive dog barking Formosa Fauna is back this week to entertainingly educate you about animals both in Taiwan and abroad! Spend the next 20 minutes listening to this episod...

Thank you for tuning into the 100th episode of Formosa Fauna. The show has been producing weekly episodes for nearly two years, bringing awareness of Taiwan's animal kingdom to the English-speaking world one 20-minute episode at a time. This week Tristan talks about her experience with barn swallows building nests on her balcony, which is regarded as good luck in Taiwanese culture. Formosa Fauna i...

Which of the following is true about pet ownership in New York? a) Horse ownership is banned b) New Yorkers cannot own pet rats c) The retail sale of dogs is banned This episode is packed with current events including the 1,500 beagles that were rescued from Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin, U.S.A., New York’s ban on the retail sale of pets, four pygmy killer whales that were rescued in New Taipei City,...