education
According to fauna specialists at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden ( KFBG ), due to amazingly accommodating habitats , Hong Kong enjoys high biodiversity in a relatively small geographical area , even in its urban spaces .
Hong Kong total area : 1,108 sq km which is home to more than 1,000 animal species and well over 3,000 plant species that we know about .
We spoke to Ms . Liz Rose-Jeffreys , Conservation Officer , and Ms . Aiko Leong , Assistant Conservation Officer , of the Fauna Conservation Department at Kadoorie , who shared their thoughts and insights about wildlife here in our city . They also spoke about the human / wildlife conflict and explained their snake release program while taking us on a local snake release .
“ What I really like about the wildlife here is the songs you can hear . It doesn ' t really matter if it ' s day time or night time , there is always something calling and making its song .” – Liz Rose-Jeffreys
Both Liz and Aiko said that if you just stop and take a moment to listen , you can count all the sounds and be amazed at what you hear . They agree that the main way to spot wildlife in Hong Kong is by simply looking , even in busy places like Central . You may not really be looking for wildlife because you ’ re in the city , but it ’ s there .
We learned from these fauna specialists that wildlife is everywhere in Hong Kong . You may notice little creatures if you look for them . “ For such a small city , we have a high biodiversity . Something special about Hong Kong is that some species visit in certain seasons . The critically endangered Spoonbill Sandpiper visits in Spring which is really amazing ,” says Aiko . While Hong Kong ’ s unique geography gives residents plenty of exposure to nature , our close proximity to wildlife often leads to conservation and protection issues not to mention human-animal conflict . Land development chips away at animal habitats , while commercial shipping and fishing cause problems for aquatic species . Sensitive development design really must be considered to avoid these situations and mitigate against them . “ For example , building in a route back to their habitat would help keep animals from getting trapped into an area ,” says Liz .
Animals low on food sources due to reduced habitat areas can become a nuisance . Many of us have seen wild boars roaming Hong Kong ’ s neighbourhoods . A native species in this part of the world , the Eurasian wild pig is omnivorous and has proved highly adaptable to living on the fringes of urban areas . However , the boars ’ search for food , in rubbish bins and at picnic areas , often leads to people feeding them , and that in turn encourages the animals to stick around .
“ You might look at a boar and think it looks hungry and give it some food . If the boar accepts the food , this encourages it to associate people with a food source . It ’ s not good for the animal ’ s diet and could lead to a nuisance in an urban area .” says Liz Rose-Jeffreys
Of course , for most Hong Kongers , wild boars are more amusing than annoying , and there ’ s a certain pride in co-habiting , as it were , with this snout-nosed , bristly coated , protected species . We ’ re encroaching on their territory as well ! Keeping that in mind , by learning about nature , we can better understand these human-wildlife conflicts and be more motivated to protect the environment . There are many ways to do this .
Kadoorie offers a range of volunteer programs which support their educational aims and contribute to their science and conservation work . This is a great way to get more involved with nature . Some volunteers even work in the snake release program , which is really interesting . It ’ s effectively a snake rescue project in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police .
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