Ten of Hong Kong’s most endangered species, from animals hunted for TCM to the gigantic Plantasaurus
December 4 is Wildlife Conservation Day, initiated to promote respect for, and protection of, endangered species. We take a look at Hong Kong’s rarest flora and fauna, and the reasons why they face extinction
Wildlife Conservation Day became an annual fixture on the global calendar in 2012. This happened when the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) threw its support behind a call by then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to promote respect for, and protection of, endangered species in the face of increased trafficking and weak enforcement.
Illegal profiteering from wildlife, which includes plant and animal species, amounts to “truly stealing from the next generation”, Clinton said at the time. For the past five years, Wildlife Conservation Day has been marked annually on December 4.
‘Imagine eating a panda’: Wildlife campaigners urge Hongkongers to give up shark fin as animals face extinction
Hong Kong is home to a number of endangered species. Here are 10 of the rarest.
Pangolin
This critically endangered anteater is listed as one of Hong Kong’s rarest mammals. Sightings of the creature are occasionally reported in and around the territory’s country parks, where they live in burrows or tree hollows.
Pangolins are found in Africa, South Asia and China. The creature is easily identifiable by its large, curved claws and overlapping scales, which vary in colour from brown to olive and cover its body like armour.
Poached for its meat and scales, which traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners believe are a medicinal cure-all, the pangolin is one of the world’s most hunted animals. In May, Hong Kong customs officers seized more than seven tonnes of Pangolin scales that arrived in the city in a shipping container from Africa.
