Among the huge number of endemic species in Taiwan, here are some of the most famous ones.

The Formosan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus formosanus) is Taiwan’s largest native land mammal and its most iconic. Recognisable by the distinctive white V-shaped chest mark, it is also deeply elusive. The estimated wild population is thought to number in the hundreds, and the animals range deep in the high-mountain interior — several days’ hike from any road. If seeing one in the wild is your goal, you should adjust your expectations: even experienced researchers and park rangers rarely get sightings. The best approach is to spend time in Yushan or Shei-Pa national parks, be genuinely quiet and patient on high-elevation trails, and treat any sighting as the rare privilege it is. The bears are most active at dawn and dusk.

The Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) is one of Taiwan’s most photogenic endemic birds and a national symbol. It is not especially rare and can be seen relatively readily in forested foothills and mountain parks. The long cobalt tail and cobalt plumage are unmistakable.

The Formosan Landlocked Salmon (Oncorhynchus masou formosanus) is among the world’s most remarkable conservation stories and one of Taiwan’s strangest biological anomalies: a cold-water salmonid living in subtropical mountain streams. Descended from migratory Japanese salmon stranded in Taiwan’s high rivers at the end of the last Ice Age, the fish became landlocked when glaciers retreated and temperatures rose. Unable to survive in water above roughly 17°C, it persists only in the cold, fast-flowing streams of the Shei-Pa massif. By 1994, just around 200 individuals remained. Thirty years of intensive conservation — including dam removal, reforestation, and captive breeding — have brought the population back to over 15,000 individuals as of 2023, now spread across five river basins. The Taiwan Salmon Eco Centre at Wuling Farm displays live fish at various life stages; observation platforms along the Qijiawan Creek allow visitors to spot them in the wild.

The Mikado Pheasant (Syrmaticus mikado) is the largest of Taiwan’s endemic birds, appearing on the NT$1,000 banknote. Males are a striking dark purple-blue with white-banded tails. They favour dense undergrowth at high elevations. Sightings require patience and an early start.

The Formosan Serow (Capricornis swinhoei), a stocky goat-antelope endemic to Taiwan, is more commonly seen than the bear. It inhabits rocky slopes and cliff edges in national parks. Reeves’s Muntjac (barking deer) and Formosan Sambar Deer also roam the mountains in some numbers.

The Taiwan Blue-tailed Skink, various endemic tree frogs, and the arboreal Chinese Pangolin round out a cast of characters that rewards slow, attentive travel over quick park-hopping.