Time is running out fast for Hong Kong's water buffalo
The protected wetlands of Pui O on Lantau are being ruined by illegal construction waste dumping and, as usual, civil servants are turning a blind eye, as villagers eye the profits of development, writes Angharad Hampshire
Jean Leung Siu-wah is known in south Lantau as the "buffalo whisperer". Slight and in her 60s, she moves with grace among the grey, mud-spattered beasts that amble gently through the island's green, open spaces.
Leung has lived on Lantau for more than three decades. For six years, she has been feeding and taking care of the buffalo around Pui O. Every day, she walks through the wetlands, delivering fresh banana and sweet potato leaves and fruit to the animals.
One buffalo in particular receives the royal treatment. Ngau Ngau, a 13-year-old male with trademark majestic crescent-shaped horns, gets the pick of the crop. He huffs affectionately through his nose as Leung slaps his rump.
Ngau Ngau was once a regular visitor to Leung's garden, in Shap Long Kau Tsuen, on the Chi Ma Wan peninsula, where he would raid her vegetable patch. Leung became fond of him, despite his antics. One day, Ngau Ngau turned up with a broken leg. Leung sought a vet's advice and was told that if she cared for Ngau Ngau for a couple of weeks, the animal would probably survive. Thanks to Leung's continued support, he thrives, despite having a shortened hind leg.
The verdant pastures and wetlands around Pui O make it an ideal home for Hong Kong's largest herds of water buffalo. However, development is likely to see them vanish as the green lung deflates.
"These buffalo will be gone in 10 years," says Leung, sadly, as she strokes Ngau Ngau's hide. "The government is not doing enough to protect them, nor are the villagers."