XN000022-1981-01-08 — Page 5

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1981

NEW BOOK DEPICTS HONG KONG'S ANIMAL LIFE

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THE MANY DIFFERENT FORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE TO BE FOUND IN HONG KONG SOME UNUSUAL OR RARE - ARE PORTRAYED IN THEIR NATURAL COLOURS IN A NEW BOOK NOW ON SALE.

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CONTAINING ABOUT 600 ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, THE BOOK ENABLES EASY IDENTIFICATION OF MOST LOCAL ANIMALS, INCLUDING MAMMALS, REPTILES, INSECTS, FRESHWATER FISH AND OTHER MARINE LIFE.

THE PAINTINGS ARE THE WORK OF KAREN PHILLIPPS, A TALENTED LOCAL ARTIST WITH A SPECIAL INTEREST IN NATURAL HISTORY. DR DENNIS S. HILL, UNTIL RECENTLY WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG'S DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, HAS PRODUCED THE TEXT WHICH IS THE RESULT OF 11 YEARS' PERSONAL EFFORT.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE, +A COLOUR GUIDE TO HONG KONG ANIMALS+, THE 280-PAGE BOOK WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES AND HAS BEEN PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER.

IT IS ON SALE AT $38 AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, LEADING BOOKSHOPS, CITY DISTRICT OFFICES AND DISTRICT OFFICES

IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

IN AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO THE BOOK, THE AUTHORS NOTE THAT THERE IS AN EVER-INCREASING AWARENESS OF LOCAL ECOLOGY IN HONG KONG.

WITH THE PROMOTION OF THE COUNTRY PARKS PROGRAMME AND THE INCREASE OF THE ECOLOGY CONTENT IN VARIOUS SCHOOL CURRICULA, THE AUTHORS HOPE THAT THIS AWARENESS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO INTEREST.

THE BOOK CONTAINS INFORMATION ON THE MAIN ECOLOGICAL HABITATS PRESENT IN HONG KONG AND GIVES A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ANIMAL COMMUNITIES.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES SAID THE BOOK WAS EXPECTED TO AROUSE CONSIDERABLE INTEREST AS IT WAS THE FIRST DETAILED SOURCE OF REFERENCE ON HONG KONG'S ANIMAL LIFE,

+ IT SHOULD APPEAL NOT ONLY TO THE SERIOUS STUDENT OF NATURAL HISTORY, BUT ALSO TO THE NON-EXPERT WHO WANTS TO INCREASE HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE MANY CREATURES WITH WHOM HE SHARES A PLACE IN THE ENVIRONMENT, HE SAID.

THE BOOK IS THE SECOND TITLE IN THE COLOUR GUIDE SERIES INTRODUCED BY THE GIS. AN EARLIER BOOK ON HONG KONG BIRDS, FEATURING ORIGINAL PAINTINGS BY THE SAME ARTIST, PROVED SO POPULAR THAT A SECOND EDITION HAD TO BE PRINTED.

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