Balance of the World: Lives Cross Cities and Wild Fields
Reported By Icy Chen
Supervised by Ms. Robin Ewing
Introduction
Although Hong Kong is a tiny place with a land area of only 1,114 square kilometers, it is home to a variety of large and small marine and terrestrial habitats that support 55 species of land mammals, over 560 species of birds, 90 species of reptiles, 25 species of amphibians and over 300 species of insects.
Hong Kong’s wild macaque monkeys roam the area in the southwest New Territories around Shing Mun Country Park. Cobras are everywhere while the long Burmese python is mostly seen around Sai Kung. The venomous green Bamboo pit viper comes out only at night. The cuddly-looking masked palm civit cat lives in Hong Kong’s trees, many on Hong Kong Island. The barking deer used to call out from Victoria Peak, but the few wild ones left have retreated into the hills of the New Territories…
In the crowded city, with its network of towering skyscrapers and bustling commercial centers, wildlife occasionally appears. Hong Kong is the fourth most dense place in the world, according to the World Bank. And it has the most skyscrapers in the world, 1,985, according to Emporis.
They may be wild boars finding food in the urban garbage sites, snakes washed down by heavy rains, or birds accustomed to traveling through parks. Occasionally, there are incidents of wildlife injuring humans.
A police officer was knocked down and bitten in the right calf in an attack by a wild boar in November last year after it was cornered by the police officer. In the same month, three children were injured after two buffaloes ran into a group of pupils on Lantau Island. In November 2020, two hikers were bitten by monkeys at Hong Kong’s Shing Mun Country Park.
This project focuses on wildlife in Hong Kong and hopes to explore the harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. Read on about the city's wild boar issue, the impact of the COVID on local wildlife, animal trade and bird watching.