Sessional_Paper_1912 — Page 56

52

II. ANIMAL LIFE.

(a.)—Wild.

61. The commonest of the wild animals in the New Territories is the deer, which abounds in all the hilly districts. All are of the small species known as hog-deer, and do not possess horns.

As they are very destructive to the crops, and as their flesh is much esteemed and fetches a good price, they are hunted vigorously by the villagers, both with dogs and with traps: they are not shot, as it is important to keep them alive to send into market.

Foxes also abound in the hilly parts of the New Territories, and they too are very des- tructive not only to the crops, but also to game and poultry. They are not easily caught by the villagers, nor are they much desired as an article of diet.

Wild cats on the other hand fetch a good price in the market, and are often caught in traps: they do much damage to stocks of poultry and ducks.

A few small wolves still survive among the hills occasionally descending to commit de- predations in the farm yards.

There are well authenticated cases in which tigers have visited portions of the New Territories and even the island of Hongkong. Two tigers were killed by Chinese in a cave in the hills near Sham Shui Po. Cattle have been killed in large numbers, especially in Lantao, where some 60 or 70 were killed, apparently by some beast with claws and tracks similar to a tiger or a panther, during 1911. It was reported by one native living in a but on Lantao that a tiger was seen by him dragging a chain, and it is not impossible that the beast in question might be a tiger escaped from a local menagerie. It would live mostly on deer, but occa- sionally pounce on isolated herds of cattle; nor is there any reason to doubt that it could swim over from one island to another. In one case in May, 1911, a number of cattle had been killed in the South of Lantao, and the remainder of the herd. thirty in number was sent over for safety to a small island a mile away; but within 2 days, 16 of these had been killed or badly wounded. An expedition went out three days later, but by that time the beast had probably returned to the thick cover afforded by the Lantao hills. It is said to have been seen again early this year (1912), both on Hongkong Island and on Lantao.

Game is not abundant; but snipe are fairly plentiful in certain districts in the autumn; and a good many quail with occasional partridge, woodcock, and wild duck can be obtained in the winter season.

(b.)—Domestic.

62. No Chinese village in the Territory is complete without its complement of pigs, poultry, and-in low-lying parts-also ducks; all of which cost nothing to keep, do the sca- venging, and fetch a good price in the Hongkong Market.

Horses and cattle are not bred in the New Territories but imported from the Chinese side of the border; a big horse and cattle market is held at Kunlong, a few miles beyond Sham Chun. There are in fact very few horses in the district, and these are small and of poor quality; but cattle are employed every where for ploughing. The strongest and most valued are the water buffaloes, which are especially suited for hard work in low-lying parts. They are a variety of the wild buffalo, and come originally from India, whence they spread both eastwards over China and westwards as far as Greece and Italy. They have long horns, thick smooth brown hides and big feet, and are very tame in the hands of the native, but shy and sensitive to strange sights and smells-a fact which renders them somewbat alarming to the foreigner.

The other variety of cattle is the short-horned cow, usually of a brown or reddish colour, which is in common use throughout the whole district.

63. Bees are kept economically throughout the Territory, and especially in the Taipo district. Their hives are made, as a rule, out of cylindrical rattan baskets, which can often be seen suspended over the doorways, out of the way of vermin, ants and cockroaches. The bees swarm about April when the lichee and other trees are in blossom, and the honey is sold almost entirely to the local chemists, by whom it is utilised as medicine.