Name Shek Chung-tong Job Wetland and fauna conservation officer
Where did you go to school? I went to the Lee Yao Memorial Secondary School in Kwai Tsing. My favourite subjects were biology, music and mathematics.
What events in your childhood influenced your choice of career? When I was in primary school we used to picnic in Kam Shan Country Park. I remember one day a monkey came and stole our food. It was my first experience with a wild mammal in Hong Kong. I used to watch David Attenborough documentaries on the origin of life and they made me want to serve the environment.
Where did you go to university and what did you read? I went to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I did a bachelors degree in biology and a masters in marine biology.
When did you decide you wanted to be a government conservation officer? After my masters, I worked in a commercial laboratory in Australia. I decided that I wanted to work for the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department instead because they do a lot a field work. I did not want to be stuck in an office all the time. A few years ago we conducted a survey of mammals in Hong Kong, where we set up nets to catch bats and found four new species in Hong Kong. There is still so much information we don't know about our environment.
What does the job involve? I specialise in the conservation of mammals, especially wild pigs, monkeys and bats. The other day I released two monkeys which had been causing a nuisance to residents. It makes me happy to see them go back to the environment. I am also involved in environmental management of the country parks and special areas, ecological aspects of environmental impact assessment studies, and ecological surveys and research. The mammal survey was the biggest project I have worked on.