Taipei Times
Date: Aug 07, 2015
By: Yu Chao-fu and Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The New Taipei City Government has canceled a proposed photography contest focused

A Siberian white crane accompanies a farmer while he works in a field near New Taipei City’s Chingshui wetland on Monday. Photo: Yu Chao-fu, Taipei Times

on a rare Siberian white crane that migrated to a wetland in the city late last year amid criticism the contest could threaten the bird’s habitat with the influx of competitors and tourists.

The contest was promoted on the city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Web site to raise awareness of bird conservation and the rarity of the white crane — an endangered species — but the office canceled the contest due to conservation concerns, office director Chen Yuan-chuan (陳淵泉) said.

The office has deployed a security guard to maintain order at the site, cordoned off the rice paddies where the bird dwells and set up warning signs to caution the public against getting too close to the bird, Chen said.     [FULL  STORY]