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THE ENVIRONMENT
Areas around the Kowloon reservoirs are inhabited by monkeys descended from animals which had been released or had escaped from captivity. There are breeding groups of long-tailed macaques and rhesus monkeys - and their hybrids. Feeding of monkeys has been prohibited since July 1999 to prevent unnatural growth of the monkey population. Smaller mammals are common, with the woodland shrew, house shrew and bats prevalent in some rural areas. Occasional sightings are still reported of less-common species such as the Chinese porcupine, the leopard cat, civet cat, ferret badger, pangolin and barking deer. Wild boars occasionally damage farm crops in remote areas.
Hong Kong has more than 200 recorded species and forms of butterflies. Among the many local moths are the giant silkworm moths, including the cythia, fawn, atlas and moon. Dragonflies and damselflies are also common, as are wasps and metallic- coloured beetles.
Marine Fauna
Hong Kong is in the sub-tropical region, and its marine environment supports species of both tropical and temperate climates. Local waters contain a wide diversity of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs and other marine life, of which at least 150 species are of significant fishery importance.
Local waters are under the strong influence of Pearl River, the largest river in southern China. Set on the eastern bank of the river's estuary, Hong Kong receives freshwater discharged from the river, especially in its western waters. The eastern waters, on the other hand, are little influenced by the Pearl River outflow and have a predominantly oceanic characteristic. This special hydrographic condition helps to contribute to the high diversity of marine life found in Hong Kong.
Despite being close to the northern limit for hard corals, Hong Kong supports some 50 stony coral species. This diversity of corals is considered quite rich by international standard. The green sea turtle is seen in local waters and nests in Hong Kong on a remote sandy beach of Lamma Island. A variety of marine fishes also breed in Hong Kong waters. Typical of eastern waters is the red sea bream, one of the several sea bream varieties whose fry are abundant along the shores of Mirs Bay in early spring.
Despite the small size of Hong Kong waters, two marine mammal species can be found here all year. The better-known one is the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin, also locally known as Chinese White Dolphin. A recently completed study indicates that one dolphin population appears to be centred in the Pearl River Estuary, including Hong Kong's western waters around Lantau Island. The Pearl River dolphin population contains an estimated 500-1 000 individuals.
A study has been commissioned to collect information on the biology of the finless porpoise, the other resident marine mammal species in Hong Kong. Unlike the Chinese White Dolphin, this species is frequently seen in eastern and southern waters, but is rarely found in the western waters preferred by the Chinese White Dolphin. It appears that there are seasonal shifts in finless porpoise numbers, probably resulting from an offshore movement of porpoise south of the Hong Kong boundary.
There has been concern over the degradation of the marine environment by pollution, coastal development works, over-fishing and destructive fishing practices. To counteract the disturbance to inshore marine resources, artificial reefs are being
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