Buffaloes a Divisive Link to Hong Kong's Past

Just a short journey from the hectic center of Hong Kong, water buffaloes roam over jungle-clad hills. But a decision to move some of them has sparked a row between villagers who view them as a nuisance, and nature lovers who see them as part of a beautiful rural setting.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Science

Topics

Wildlife, Science

Places

China, Hong Kong

Transcript

SCRIPT: Buffaloes are perhaps the last thing you'd expect to find in Hong Kong. Yet scores of the majestic beasts roam just a short journey from gleaming skycrapers. But many residents aren't happy to share their island with the farm animal descendants. SOUNDBITE 1 Sarah Wong (woman), shopkeeper on Lantau (Cantonese, 21 sec): "If they get into parks, it’s dangerous for the children playing there, and they get frightened by them. There are a lot of buffaloes on the beaches too and we’re afraid when we swim because they look fierce. Sometimes they cross the road, which is dangerous for drivers, who often have to stop to let them pass." But now a handful of the buffaloes have a useful job to do. They've been moved to a nature reserve in northwest Hong Kong where they graze wetlands and there is little risk of coming into conflict with humans. SOUNDBITE 2 John Allcock (man), WWF-Hong Kong, head of habitat management and monitoring at Mai Po reserve (English, 10 sec) "We found that buffalo are actually very good at managing the habitats, at keeping short vegetation at keeping wetland areas, which provides very good habitat for the birds we get here." The WWF hopes to take in more buffaloes soon. But not everyone's so happy to see their neighbours leave. SOUNDBITE 3 Ho Loy (woman), chair of the Lantau Buffalo Association (English, 7 sec): "This is their home. They make this place beautiful for the community. Without them, we do not have this beautiful scenery." Proof then that the beasts do have friends -- of all shapes and sizes. SHOTLIST: HONG KONG, JAN 5, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of buffaloes on Lantau island - Two villagers sitting outside shops on Lantau HONG KONG, JAN 30, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - SOUNDBITE 1 HONG KONG, JAN 5, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of buffaloes on Lantau - A car and a bike driving on a road through a Lantau village HONG KONG, DEC 4, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of buffaloes at Mai Po nature reserve - John Allcok, WWF-Hong Kong official, waves grass at a buffalo at Mai Po - SOUNDBITE 2 - Buffalo eating grass at Mai Po - Birds swimming at Mai Po HONG KONG, JAN 5, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of buffaloes on Lantau - Ho Loy, chair of the Lantau Buffalo Association, taking photos of a buffalo on Lantau - SOUNDBITE 3 HONG KONG, JAN 30, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of a group of buffaloes sitting with birds on their backs on Lantau ------------------------------- AFP TEXT: HongKong-environment-animals-buffalo,FEATURE Buffaloes a divisive link to Hong Kong's past by Sam Reeves HONG KONG, Feb 18, 2013 (AFP) - A short journey from the skyscrapers at the hectic centre of Hong Kong, water buffaloes lumber over jungle-clad hills and through secluded villages where they once worked as farm animals. But after years roaming through the same areas, some have been moved to a nature reserve in a far-flung corner of the territory. Shifting even a few of the beasts has proved divisive in a city whose eye on the future has meant a steady erosion of its past. For some residents and day-trippers, many of them expatriates, the act of moving the animals damages an idyllic setting on Lantau island, a short ferry ride from Hong Kong's main island and an escape from the supercrowded city. But it is a different story for those who regard the animals as a nuisance, blocking traffic and defecating wherever they please, with little practical use now that agriculture plays such a small part in the high-tech territory. There are roughly 130 water buffaloes in two main herds in Hong Kong, most of them on Lantau, according to government data. Many visitors do not expect to find feral buffaloes at all in a city with one of the highest population densities in the world. But 75 percent of Hong Kong is countryside, with hiking trails, sandy beaches and national parks that are home to monkeys, snakes and wild boar. Government officials and a protection group have in recent years moved four buffaloes, from Lantau and elsewhere to the WWF-run Mai Po nature reserve in northwest Hong Kong. Such moves are usually prompted by complaints from the public. The latest addition, Mai Bo, arrived in September. The WWF says the animals are proving a great help at the 380-hectare (940-acre) reserve where they graze wetlands, which in turn helps to attract rare birds. "We found that buffalo are actually very good at managing the habitats, at keeping short vegetation... which provides very good habitat for the birds that we get here," said John Allcock, WWF-Hong Kong's head of habitat management and monitoring at Mai Po. He hopes to take in more buffaloes but distances the WWF from the debate that moving the animals has sparked in a city where many are concerned with the loss of heritage that has come as a consequence of its development. "I think of them as something that adds character to Lantau," said David Blecken, a 32-year-old British journalist who lives on Hong Kong's main island. "I think Hong Kong sometimes lacks a connection with nature, so it's quite nice to see animals of any kind in Hong Kong." Some Lantau residents are also against moving them. "This is their home. They make this place beautiful for the community. Without them, we do not have this beautiful scenery," said Ho Loy, chair of the Lantau Buffalo Association. Other villagers disagree, and some even view the hulking beasts as dangerous even if attacks are rare. Such fears were heightened in March 2011 when a man walking with his young daughter on a Lantau beach was attacked by a buffalo and suffered leg injuries. "If they get into parks, it's dangerous for the children playing there," said shopkeeper Sarah Wong. "There are a lot of buffaloes on the beaches too and we're afraid when we swim because they look fierce."