Extremely torrential rains brought by Typhoon Morakot triggered landslides in many of Taiwan's mountain regions, including the Siangyang National Forest Recreation Area in Yushan National Park where the high-altitude Jiaming Lake is situated.

"With historical hiking trails leading to Siangyang and Jiaming Lake seriously damaged, hikers disappeared, allowing many endemic animal species to reclaim their lost territory," said Huang Chun-tse, a section chief at the Taitung branch office of the Forest Bureau under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture.

While examining typhoon damage along a major hiking trail, Huang said he was amazed to spot several Formosan salamanders -- a top-grade protected species endemic to Taiwan that lives at elevations of above 2,000 meters -- in the Siangyang refuge cottage.

Walking deeper into the mountain, Huang said he and his colleagues were in for even more surprises.

"We came across many other protected animal species which have not been seen in the region since Jiaming Lake became a new popular hiking spot, " Huang said.

Among the species spotted were Formosan yellow throated martens, Formosan field mice and Formosan sambar deer.

Lin Ming-chuang, a forest ranger at the Siangyang work station, said the Siangyang-Jiaming area became inaccessible to hikers after Typhoon Morakot, allowing wild animals to return to their previous habitats.

"Hiking trails have again become paths dominated by wild animals, " he said. "Without human interference, many Sambar deer now often loiter in the Siangyang Forest Recreation Area at night and yellow throated martens also like to stroll along Siangyang-Jiaming hiking trails."

The absence of thousands of hikers that used to visit the area every weekend in previous years has helped restore the surrounding environment to a more pristine state, Lee observed.

"The damage to access roads may be a boon, allowing the region to take a rest and resume its function as a safe heaven for wild animals," he said.

At an elevation of 3,310 meters and measuring 120 meters long by 80 meters wide, the oval Jiaming Lake has become a favorite hiking spot in recent years because of its clear water and beautiful scenery.