ENG-1957 — Page 384

Chapter 23: Fauna and Flora

FAUNA

Mammals. Wild mammals are seldom seen, although the species on record are both varied and interesting. Due largely to an immense expansion of the human population in recent times, some of these mammalian species have unfortunately become scarce, rare, or even non-existent in the Colony. The fact that several of them (e.g. civets, wild cats, porcupines, and deer) are of considerable value locally as food is also not conducive to an increase in their numbers.

Of the cat family, both the South China Tiger and the Leopard have occasionally entered the Colony from Chinese territory. Such visits are now extremely rare and no tigers have been reported in recent years. On 22nd October, 1957, a European resident saw a Leopard at Sha Tin in the New Territories; during the next few weeks this animal was sighted on several occasions and killed a number of domestic animals. It is now believed to have been the Leopard which was shot in Chinese territory about eight miles from Sha Tau Kok on 4th December. The one other member of the cat family on record is the Chinese Leopard Cat, spotted and about the size of a Domestic Cat, which is still resident in restricted numbers in certain less populated areas on the mainland.

The Dhole or Indian Wild Dog and the South China Red Fox are both included in the Colony's fauna, though the present status of each is unknown. Monkeys still occur in small numbers, but have very localized distribution, both on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories. Although all of these may be the descendants of released or escaped specimens, it is possible that those on Hong Kong Island are