Extreme weather has forced water buffaloes to leave Taipei's Yangmingshan National Park this winter, causing problems for local farmers as they gobble up their crops.
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00:00Stray water buffaloes wandering down the streets of Pingtung Village in Taipei City.
00:05The scene has become common recently,
00:07as extreme weather forces the animals to leave their territory in Yamingshan National Park.
00:12This usually happens when there is a sudden drop in temperature or continuous rain.
00:18The arrival of the animals has raised concerns among local residents.
00:22They worry about the safety of the people and their farms.
00:26It's not that we don't like the buffaloes.
00:28We are just afraid that they might cause damage to the farm.
00:31And the buffaloes don't have a home in the farm.
00:34In the past year, there were more than 270 buffaloes in Kaoli Village.
00:39In just one night, one buffalo was killed.
00:42To prevent the buffaloes from causing problems,
00:44the park is giving farmers subsidies to install electric fences.
00:50The park is also working on protective measures,
01:03repairing old cattle sheds and providing hay and salt licks for the animals.
01:07The park says these efforts have successfully encouraged the water buffaloes to stay,
01:12making it less likely they will wander down the mountain.
01:15In winter, we try to provide them with enough food and water.
01:22The water buffaloes aren't suited to living in Yamingshan National Park.
01:26Farmers brought them there in the 1900s to graze during fallow periods,
01:30and now experts are working to find them a better home.
01:34Until then, the park can only do so much
01:36to encourage its water buffaloes to be good neighbors to the local residents.
01:40Chris Ma and Sunny Chi for Taiwan Plus.
01:45For more UN videos visit www.un.org