Successive ice ages have chased animals all the way from the Himalayas to Taiwan. Writes Chen Yu-feng: "With the southward migration of northern ecosystems, Taiwan offered an excellent place for refuge. As the ice caps subsequently retreated and temperatures rose, animals moved to higher altitudes. They unknowingly adopted Taiwan as their home, and have since evolved into many unique life forms."
年輕的台灣島新居落成，又逢幾度冰河退卻，動植物由歐亞板塊上遙遠的喜馬拉雅山一路遷移來台，「北方生態系大舉南渡，台灣提供其避難地，且在氣候回暖時段，逕向高山拓殖，落土生根，認同入籍，遞變為許許多多的台灣特產」，陳玉峰寫道，台灣島上生物的生命，也可以上溯兩億年。