Balance is needed in buffalo conservation
- The wild buffalo that are traditional inhabitants of Lantau Island and the northern New Territories should be protected. But with development relentlessly encroaching on their environment, the risk of potentially dangerous encounters with people remains. Their numbers should be monitored to ensure they do not get out of control
Among many things that set Hong Kong apart from other international metropolises is the odd encounter between the inhabitants and wild buffalo. The most recent example is that between two charging male water buffaloes and a group of schoolchildren on Lantau Island, which resulted in three eight-year-olds being injured, while seven others narrowly escaped as they scattered.
Two boys and a girl required hospital treatment. It could have been more serious. One buffalo chased another across South Lantau Road near Pui O in what a local conservationist called common mating-season behaviour. The two animals then ran along the pavement into a group of pupils gathered at an outdoor public car park.
The welfare of the buffaloes and the people they live among are a perennial problem in Hong Kong. The animals are as traditional and indigenous an inhabitant as there can be. But unlike human equivalents their rights are not enshrined. Lantau residents are divided about them. They are either seen as a nuisance, blocking traffic and trampling gardens, or as a picturesque addition to the landscape. Ho Loy, chairwoman of the Lantau Buffalo Association, a conservation group, said this time of year brought increased buffalo activity as bulls competed for mates and as the animals looked for new wetland. Attacks on people are rare and can result from provocation, which need not be intentional. The water buffalo are among livestock left behind as farms were abandoned in the 1970s.
For more than 15 years, association members have been trying to protect the herds by feeding those living on Lantau Island as well as in Sai Kung and Tap Mun in the northern New Territories. Ho says it is a mission to balance development with nature. However, with development relentlessly encroaching, the risk remains of incidents like that involving the children. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the two male buffaloes were being neutered to lower their aggression. That is also a legitimate tool for maintaining a sensible balance. These traditional inhabitants should be protected. But there is a need for monitoring of their numbers to ensure they do not get out of control.