In today's news, with Nancy and Paz:
Helping Formosan black bears, saving the planet with hair, and plum blossoms for Lunar New Year.
All that and more, coming up next!
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發現臺灣黑熊 通報有獎勵金
Cash Prize for Sighting Formosan Black Bear
The Formosan black bear is an important part of Taiwan.
They are black all over, except for a white "V" marking on their chest.
They are the biggest land animal native to the island.
And they are Taiwan's only native bear species.
台灣黑熊是台灣特有種的黑熊，也是台灣陸地上最大型的食肉動物。
But they are endangered.
They face danger from illegal traps, hunters, and loss of habitat.
Now the Forestry Bureau is awarding (獎勵) people who help protect Formosan black bears.
It gave a man in Hualien $8,000 NT.
Manama is a member of the Bunun indigenous people.
He got the reward for seeing a Formosan black bear and reporting it to officials without hurting the bear.
And he let the bureau set up cameras on his property to see what the bear was doing.
Manama says his son told him last month that one of their chickens was eaten by a wild animal.
Manama told forest officials.
The officials also found black bear fur and feces (糞便) close by.
They all took steps to encourage the bear not to come back to the village.
This is done to keep both the villagers and the bear safe.
Manama says it was the first time he had seen a Formosan black bear in the 50 years he's lived in the village.
He says he did not hurt the bear because the Bunun people deeply respect the animal.
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回收頭髮助「吸油」
Recycled Hair Helps Protect the Environment
Hair is an important part of our body.
It helps us stay warm.
And it protects important parts of our body too.
But did you know it can also protect the environment?
A Belgium company is turning human hair into mats (墊子).
It collects hair from hairdressers (美髮師).
All the hair is put into a machine.
The machine weaves (編織) the hair into a mat.
These hair mats can soak up a lot of oil from water.
剪下來的頭髮可以回收製成吸取油汙的墊子。
The company says 1 kilogram of hair can absorb (吸收) around 8 liters of oil.
That's about 32 cups!
The mats can be used to clean up oil spills (石油洩漏).
Or they can be used to clean drain water (廢水) before the water is put back into rivers and oceans.
The company says one strand of hair can hold up to 10 million times its own weight.
Hair is also elastic (有彈性的).
And it absorbs fats and chemicals, like oil and pesticides (殺蟲劑).
The company says hair mats help the environment in many ways.
It cleans up pollution…
The hair that would have become garbage, is turned into something useful…
And it's easy to get more hair, because we keep growing more!
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春節有機會賞梅
Plum Blossoms to Bloom for Lunar New Year
What are you doing over the Lunar New Year holiday?
This year's Lunar New Year holiday will be 10 days long.
If you'd like to get out and enjoy nature, you might consider going to see plum blossoms (梅花).
Farmers in Taitung say this year is the first time in 40 years that you may be able to see plum blossoms over the Lunar New Year.
They say usually plum blossoms bloom a month before the Lunar New Year.
專家說梅花通常都是在農曆春節前1個月左右開花。
But this year the Lunar New Year comes a bit earlier, and plum blossom trees are blooming a bit later than usual.
They say there are now flower buds (花苞) on plum blossom trees.
The farmers think the plum blossoms will probably start blooming this week.
And the blossoms will be in full bloom next week.
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So, in today's News Bites:
The Forestry Bureau is awarding people who help protect Formosan black bears.
Manama, a member of the Bunun indigenous people, got the reward for seeing a Formosan black bear and reporting it to officials without hurting the bear.
He says the Bunun people deeply respect the animal.
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A Belgium company is turning human hair into mats.
These hair mats can soak up a lot of oil from water.
The mats can be used to clean up oil spills, or clean drain water before the water is put back into rivers and oceans.
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And…..
Farmers in Taitung say this year is the first time in 40 years that you may be able to see plum blossoms over the Lunar New Year.
The farmers think the plum blossoms will probably start blooming this week.
And the blossoms will be in full bloom next week.
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And that's all for today's episode of News Bites!