Formosan macaques stir up trouble on Taitung utility poles

Formosan macaques stir up trouble on Taitung utility poles

2026-04-24

And now to Taitung, where some unexpected “high-wire performers” are turning heads. Formosan macaques have been spotted taking over utility poles, climbing, balancing, and even swinging across power lines as if it were a circus act. But while it may look amusing at first, the situation can quickly turn dangerous, for the monkeys and for humans. Some macaques fall off the poles to an untimely end, and their shenanigans cause power outages and damage to equipment.

Formosan macaques have taken over the utility pole. Some sit and chill while others hang on with their hands. Some others weave back and forth through the power lines as if doing tightrope stunts. It’s enough to make anyone nervous.

One of the monkeys balancing on the cable fell right off, seemingly after getting a shock. Sadly, it didn’t survive the fall.

Voice of Wang Po-kai
Took video
Some friends and I were checking out our land when we saw the monkeys. I thought they looked so funny, like a free circus show. It was hilarious seeing them on the power lines.

But for pineapple farmers in the area, it was anything but funny. The fruits in the fields became an all-you-can-eat buffet for the macaques.

Pineapple farmer
Taitung
The monkeys are too cunning. The pineapples are still small. They are still healthy because we keep dogs to scare the monkeys away. They are as bad as a natural disaster.

The number of macaques in Chenggong Township has been increasing by the year. And even the security cameras set up nearby by the nearby East Coast National Scenic Area Administration have been wrecked by the monkeys. Locals say their climbing and shenanigans on the power lines have caused outages in mountain communities that severely disrupt daily life.

Mr. Tsai
Farmer
The macaque population is huge now, which is causing trouble for farmers. Sometimes they climb the power lines, causing blackouts in mountainous areas.

Wang Sheng-ming
East Coast National Scenic Area
After receiving the report, we immediately sent personnel to inspect and fix the cameras back up. We also increased patrols to reduce the chance of damage.

Amid the frequent reports of monkey business, park officials urge the general public to follow basic rules when encountering wild animals: don’t touch them, don’t disturb them, and don’t feed them.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#monkey #macaque #taitung #formosanmacaque #monkeybusiness

台東猴群占滿電線桿! 上演高空走鋼索監視器也遭殃

2026-04-24

台東成功鎮東管處附近，出現罕見景象，大量台灣獼猴集體出現在電線桿上，來回走動，像在走鋼索一樣，誇張的是，不僅打歪東管處的監視器，還有其中一隻猴子，疑似觸電後，當場從高空墜落死亡。附近居民就抱怨，猴群入侵農田、啃食鳳梨，還攀爬電線，還曾經導致金針山停電，已經嚴重影響生活。

放眼望去，一整排電線桿上，站滿台灣獼猴，有的蹲坐，有的來回移動，在高空電線上穿梭，彷彿上演走鋼索特技，驚險畫面，讓人看得捏一把冷汗。

走著走著，其中一隻猴子疑似觸電，失去平衡，直接從高空墜落，倒地不起，當場死亡。

[[聲源:拍攝者王柏凱]]
“跟朋友上去看土地，剛好看到一群猴子，想說怎麼這麼好笑的畫面，免費的馬戲團在那邊表演，這麼好笑，在爬那個電線啊”

還有地面農田也難逃一劫，整片鳳梨田，成了獼猴的「自助餐」，讓農民苦不堪言。

[[鳳梨農]]
“猴子太囂張了，(鳳梨)還小小的，為什麼現在都那麼健康，因為我們有放那個狗驅那個猴子，猴子就變成是我們的天災”

台東成功鎮東管處附近，近年來獼猴數量有增加趨勢，連東管處設置的即時影像監視器，就曾多次遭獼猴干擾，甚至打歪。而當地居民也無奈表示，猴群頻繁攀爬電線，還導致山區停電，生活大受影響。

[[農民蔡先生]]
“現在猴子的數量非常龐大，那對農民其實造成很大的困擾，那甚至有時候會去爬我們的電線，會造成山區有時候會造成停電”

[[台東東管處副處長王聖銘]]
“我們在收到訊息後的第一時間，我們就立即派人進場檢修，調整鏡頭，那也會加強巡檢，減少被破壞的機會”

獼猴亂象頻傳，東管處呼籲民眾落實「不接觸、不干擾、不餵食」，避免干擾野生動物，釀出更大生態問題。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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If you left a bottle of water from a Taiwanese river sitting for a month, there would definitely be some bacteria in it as well. Drug-resistant bacteria don’t necessarily multiply quickly unless they’re under pressure from antibiotics. So unless those bottles of river water have been fed antibiotics every day, it won’t breed particularly resilient bacteria.

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