Hong Kong’s lush forests are teeming with more wildlife ranging from birds arriving from neighbouring regions to newly discovered reptile and insect species, experts have found, as they urge authorities to devise a conservation list to protect vulnerable local species.
The call by the city’s conservationists to formulate a “red list” – a long-awaited measure since 2014 – coincided with National Ecology Day on Saturday.
Gary Ades, head of fauna conservation at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG), called the recent discoveries “positive” signs.
“We have gotten the brown wood owl … the Chinese barbet and the black-chinned yuhina, that expanded its range into Hong Kong – a good sign because it shows us that some of these species found our forests mature enough to find places to nest and food to feed on,” Ades said.
The city’s forests had attracted birds from nearby regions, with the brown wood owl coming from Guangdong province forests, he said.
It took around 50 to 100 years for forests to mature, Ades added.