Insects
Records of the Bumble bee, Bombus eximius A torpid worker was found at 500m on Fei Ngo Shan on 3 April, 1999. Another worker was seen at sea level in Three Fathoms Cove, collecting pollen from the mangrove Kandelia candel, on 5 April 1999.
Graham Reels
Fish
Paradise Fish (Macropodus opercularis) were found living in some of the wallows in abandoned fields at Loi Tung near Sha Tau Kok on 25 March 1999. Bosco Chan
New locality record for Rice Fish The rare Rice Fish (Oryzias latipes) was found in a small rocky hill stream at Chok Ko War (Penny's Bay), North Lantau on 10 January 1999. A few fish were collected for identification, and passed onto Bosco Chan at HKU. It is unusual to find this fish in rocky hill streams as it is a species of standing waters or slow-flowing, low-gradient streams. Also, this species has never previously been found in the northeast Lantau area.
Lee Kwok Shing
Amphibians
NENT NEWT Hong Kong Newts (Paramesotriton hongkongensis) were recorded at Sheung Wo Hang, near Sha Tau Kok, on 25 March 1999.
Bosco Chan
So Lo Pun sightings Bosco Chan discovered a population of the Big-headed Frog (Rana kuhlii) near sea level along the wooded stream at So Lo Pun, NENT, on 22 April 1999. The frogs were active at mid-day.
Also at So Lo Pun at about the same time on the same day, Narrow-mouthed Frogs (Kalophrynus interlineatus) were heard calling in abandoned fields at sea level.
Narrow-mouthed Frogs were also heard calling in low-lying abandoned fields at Sha Ling, near Lo Wu, on 20 April 1999, again at midday
Reptiles
Stream snakes
On 25 April 1999 Keith Wilson and Graham Reels encountered two different species of stream snake in the middle of the day whilst following a stream at Sheung Tong in Tai Lam Country Park.
A Bicoloured Stream Snake (Opisthotropis lateralis) was found moving sluggishly under a stone in the middle of the stream, and was photographed. Later on in the same stream two Anderson's Stream Snakes (Opisthotropis andersonii) were seen actively swimming. The second was briefly caught and photographed, before being returned to the stream.
Krait eating Krait
On 3 July 1998, Bryan Moseley found a fresh roadkill of Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus) on South Lantau Road near San Sek Wan. The snake has a snout-vent length (SVL) of 105 cm and a total length (TL) of 117 cm. It scarcely had time to digest its last meal of a juvenile Many-banded Krait (Bungarus multicinctus, SVL 56 cm and TL 65 cm) that was more or less intact in the stomach. Both species of krait are known to feed on snakes, but this is probably the first confirmed case in Hong Kong of an ophiophagous snake being eaten by another snake.
Michael Lau
A dead adult Copperhead Racer (Elaphe radiata), measuring 1.4 m, was collected at Tai Mei Tuk, Plover Cove, on 26 April 1999. Graham Reels
Chinese Water Snake
On 25 March 1999, Bosco Chan recorded Chinese Water Snake (Enhydris chinensis) at Sheung Wo Hang, near Sha Tau Kok. Although not unexpected, this is apparently the first time this snake has been recorded in the Sha Tau Kok area.
Robert Davison reports seeing three Slender Forest Skinks (Scincella modesta) in woodland at Tin Sam, near Wu Kau Tang, on 5 April 1999 at l700hrs. [This species can be confused with the commoner S. reevesii - Ed] Green Turtle at the Cape
Graham Blackmore and Paul Hodgeson spotted a Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve on 11 March 1999.
Mammals
Mad March Mongooses!
At noon on 18 March at the back of the Mai Po Education Centre, two Small Asian Mongooses were seen locked jaw to jaw facing each other, spinning on the ground and rolling in and out of a wood pile. They were also making a loud purring sound as they were doing all this. They must have been very engrossed in what they were doing because they could be approached to within a couple of tens of metres. Using binoculars, one of the animals was seen to have been a female with a dilated vagina, but the sex of the other animal could not be identified.
This may have been some form of courtship behaviour because about two weeks later on the morning of 3 April, one of the Mai Po field staff saw a pair of mongooses copulating on a dirt track near the Education Centre. There was thick grass on either side of the track and after about every three minutes, the male would dismount and the pair would go into the grass. Within a minute, they would come back back out and start copulating again. This went on for at least 45 minutes.
During copulation, the female would lie flat on the ground with the male (who had a darker muzzle) mounting from the rear. We could not hear any noise coming from the pair, maybe we were too far away (at least l00m), but could see the male occasionally biting the head and ears of the female (we had a telescope this time).
During the whole process, a third mongoose was every now and then seen coming out of the grass, approaching the copulating pair, and then going back into the grass again. This did not have a dark muzzle and we thought it must have been another female or a fairly young animal. Its size was similar to the other two.
We now look forward to the sound of the patter of little paws!
Lew Young (Manager, Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve)
BARKING DEER RECORDS
A Barking Deer (Muntiacus sp.) was heard calling at Ting Hang Mei, Mui Wo, Lantau Island on 29 January 1999. (Also, a possible Squirrel sighting was made at the same site in mid-January).
Jenny Quinton
In the late afternoon of 24 April, Chris Pooley spotted a Barking Deer at Golden Hill near Kowloon Reservoir. The startled animal dashed across the footpath and disappeared downhill. It was judged to be approximately 3 ft high at the shoulders, and had its head held down. Small antlers were noted, indicating that the animal was a male.
The deer may have been disturbed by semi-feral dogs, which were particularly evident that day.
More illegal mist-netting
In early March 1999, Gary Grant came across an illegal mist net at a market garden near the site of the old Whitehead Detention Centre, Sai Kung. The mist net contained 21 fruit bats (species not determined) of different ages, as well as a number of thrushes (species not determined), all of which were dead. The AFD were subsequently notified of this situation.
All bats and all wild birds are protected by law in Hong Kong, and it is illegal to trap or kill them.
Signs of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) were very common in the streams and abandoned fields at Loi Tung, near Sha Tau Kok, on 25 March 1999.
Bosco Chan
Porcupine
Remains of a Porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) were found by Andrew McAulay and Lena Fung on 31 January 1999 near Tai Tong, Tai Lam Country Park.
Porcupine scats were seen at Sheung Ma Shek, near Lung A Pai, Lam Tsuen Valley on 6 April 1999.
John Fellowes
Records of porcupines continue to be made at KFBG, the most recent being a pair of shed quills found on 9 April 1999 at ~300m by Judy Kiu and Graham Reels.
More Fruit Bats
Michael Lau and Jennifer Lai saw a fruit bat at Tai Ho, northeast Lantau, on 9 May 1999. They later saw 4 fruit bats nearby at Pak Mong. The sightings were made at night and the bats were not identified to species.
On 29 January 1999, John Fellowes found a dead Lesser Bent-winged Bat (Miniopterus pusillus) on the road near Pak Ngau Shek. This is believed to be the rarest of the 3 local Miniopterus species.
A Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata) was spotted on the Cape d'Aguilar Road at 1830 hrs on 11 March 1999 by Graham Blackmore and Paul Hodgeson.
Robin P.K. Fung saw a Small Asian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) on a bund next to a pond at Long Valley, near Sheung Shui, at 1600 hrs on 18 Feb 1999.
Mouse sighting: A Ryukyu Mouse (Mus caroli) was discovered by Michael Lau under a wooden board at Sha Po, near Kam Tin, on 17 April 1999.
P.26-27
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