Puzzle Pieces & the Formosan Salmon

“Ants can move even a mighty mountain.” -Chinese proverb

I’m not a big fan of puzzles. I have a hard time visualizing connections, and a scattered image overwhelms me. In high school, I had to help put together a puzzle of our mascot (and there was no computer wizardry back then) for our yearbook cover image. I think I managed to contribute a few pieces over the course of three days. As an adult, I realize I can complete puzzles, but it takes concentrated effort. I need to work bit by bit, much like the ant mentioned above (though ants can carry 10-50 times their weight because of their greater muscle area, up to about 150 mg).

My latest triumph is putting together this Formosan landlocked salmon:

Taiwanese salmon

Known also as the Taiwanese salmon, it’s endemic to the area. The Formosan salmon became landlocked through a process of glaciation. They live in cold streams above 1500 m and can be best found in the Cijiawan River in the Wuling area.

Related to the West-Pacific cherry salmon, the Formosan salmon is very rare because of historic overfishing and pollution. Declared critically endangered in 1989 when their population dropped to 200 individuals, conservation projects and centers have now increased the salmon population to the several thousand range.

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