23
Natural History
THOUGH Hong Kong is small it abounds in tropical and sub- tropical fauna and has many attractions for the lover of nature. Mammals. Wild mammals are seldom seen, although the species on record are both varied and interesting. Some of these have unfortunately become very scarce, largely because of the immense expansion of the human population in recent times; and any in- crease in their numbers is very unlikely, partly because several of them (such as civets, wild cats, porcupines and deer) are of con- siderable value locally as food.
Of the cat family, both the South China Tiger and the Leopard have entered the Colony from Chinese territory from time to time. Such visits are now extremely rare and although there was a story in January of 1959 that two young Chinese women gathering firewood near Tai Po had come upon a tiger asleep, the report was not confirmed. A leopard was seen in the New Territories as recently as 1957. The one other member of the cat family to be recorded is the Chinese Leopard Cat, spotted and about the size of a domestic cat, which is still found in small numbers in certain less populous areas.
The Dhole, or Indian Wild Dog, and the South China Red Fox are still officially included in the Colony's fauna, but the present standing of each is doubtful and neither is known to have been seen for some years. Monkeys still appear on the Island and in the New Territories, but in small numbers and in very limited areas. Although they may all be the descendants of captives which once escaped or were set free, those on Hong Kong Island might possibly be indigenous Rhesus Monkeys. Less than a hundred years ago this species lived on most of the small islands about Hong Kong. Another interesting mammal, whose secretive and nocturnal habits make it a stranger to man, is the primitive Chinese Pangolin or Scaly Ant-eater. Other native mammals are the Chinese Ferret-Badger, which certainly occurs in the Peak district, and