Ludo Wildlife Guide

1. BLACK-EARED KITE 黑鳶

Usually seen riding the thermal waves, the black kite is widespread throughout Hong Kong. Research suggests the winter population keeps to around 2-3000 birds, but in the summer only around 300 or so may choose to stay in Hong Kong. As well as eating fish,these kites also feed on birds, snakes, lizards, rodents and carrion. They are master flyers, with average wingspans of 150cm, gliding effortlessly among the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Their distinctive shrill, whinnying call can often be heard above you.

2. PINK DOLPHIN aka CHINESE WHITE DOLPHIN 中華白海豚

An adult pink dolphin can be white or pink, weigh around 200kg, and can live for around 40 years. These warm-blooded mammals need to come up to the surface to breathe every 2-8 minutes. The pink colour comes not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped for thermoregulation. When chasing food, these animals disperse heat to their outer layers of skin and this can make them look even pinker. These beautiful animals are critically endangered in Hong Kong due to habitat loss, fishing bycatch, vessel collision and pollution. Their numbers in local waters have fallen from an estimated 158 in 2003 to just 32 in 2020**.

成年的中華白海豚重約2 0 0公斤，可以活到4 0歲左右，有白色或淡粉紅色的膚色。牠是溫血哺乳類動物，需要每兩至八分鐘浮上水面呼吸。牠特別的粉紅膚色並非源自任何色素，是來自調節體温而增生的血管。可悲的是，由於棲息地喪失、漁業誤捕、船隻碰撞和污染 ，牠現正極度瀕危，在本地水域的估計數量已從2003年的158條下降至2020年的32條。

3. RIBBONTAIL RAY 藍斑條尾魟

A bottom-dwelling inhabitant of lagoons, estuaries and reefs, this large ray is characterised by a thick, rounded body, a distinctive light and dark mottled pattern on its upper surface, and a black tail. Although not aggressive, if provoked the ribbontail ray will defend itself with its venomous tail spine.

4. BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS 藍圈章魚

One of the world’s most venomous marine animals, blue-ringed octopus are small and usually well camouflaged. However, despite its small size, this species carries enough venom to kill twenty-six adult humans within minutes. If threatened, they become patterned with bright blue circles, which are intended as a warning. Females lay only one clutch of about 50 eggs in their lifetimes towards the end of autumn. These are incubated underneath the female's arms for about six months- during which time she does not eat and, after the eggs hatch, she will die.

藍圈章魚是世界上最劇毒的海洋動物之一，體型細小，通常偽裝得很好。儘管牠身型細小，體內的毒液足以在數分鐘內殺死26個成年人。當牠受到威脅時，會展示明亮的藍色圓圈以作警告。雌性會在秋末時產下一窩約50顆的卵，用觸手孵卵約六個月，期間並不進食。當卵孵化後，她就會死去。

5. RED-SPOTTED GROUPER (GAROUPA) 赤點石斑魚

Growing up to 50cm in length, this large, robust fish, has a beautiful red body with oval bluish spots. Interestingly, the young garoupa start off as females but turn into males as they grow larger. Often seen in Hong Kong seafood restaurants, it is a highly prized fish - especially during Chinese New Year celebrations.

6. SEA SLUG (NUDIBRANCH) 海蛞蝓

Around 200 species of nudibranch have been recorded in Hong Kong. Their bright colours warn predators that they are noxious or even toxic. Most of them have deterrent chemicals (either made by the animals themselves or absorbed and retained from their toxic prey) which make them foul tasting or poisonous. Nudibranchs have a short life cycle, lasting from several weeks to a year.

7. GREAT SEAHORSE 克氏海馬

Three species of seahorse have been recorded in Hong Kong waters and can be found around coral areas, and in eastern Hong Kong waters, down to about 7 metres depth. Poor swimmers, lacking tail fins, they use their dorsal (back) fins for propulsion and their flexible tails to cling to seagrass and other objects. Strictly monogamous, seahorses will only find a new partner when the old one dies. Considered valuable in traditional Chinese medicine, their populations worldwide are sadly in decline.

8. SEA URCHIN 長刺海膽

Brandishing extremely long, hollow spines that are mildly venomous, this urchin’s sting is painful but not fatal. Of the 21 urchin species in Hong Kong, this is the most common. Omnipresent in rocky reefs, with a population density of up to one individual per 3.4m2, the unusually large number of these urchins is theorised to be partly natural, and partly due to overfishing of its primary predator in the region, the Blackspot Tuskfish.

長刺海膽有極長、空心和微毒的刺，若不幸被刺中會很疼痛，但不會致命。這種海膽是香港21種海膽中最常見的一種，於石礁中無處不在，族群密度可達到每3.4平方米一隻。

1. GÜNTHER’S FROG 沼蛙

Reaching up to 10cm in length, these large, attractive frogs have smooth skin, pale-brown backs and dark brown lateral sides. They like to keep cool, so can often be seen floating near the surface on ponds, or puddles. Often found in still or slow moving water, they’ve even been found perched in trees.

2. SCARLET DRAGONFLY aka CRIMSON DROPWING 红蜻

This lovely creature is a brilliantly-coloured member of the dragonfly family. The four wings give them complete mastery of flight, including the ability to hover and even to fly backwards. Only the male is scarlet/crimson, the female is dull yellow with brown and black lateral stripes. 

3. WATERHEN 白胸苦惡鳥

A common resident in Hong Kong wetland habitats, white-breasted waterhens have loud repetitive croaky calls and can be especially noisy at dawn and dusk. Dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast, neck and belly, their tail is held up and jerks as they walk. They probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, picking up food by sight- mainly insects, small fish, aquatic invertebrates and grains or seeds.

4. MUDSKIPPER 彈塗魚

Mudskippers are actually amphibious fish that can live in and out of water, using their side pectoral fins to “walk”, “skip”, “jump” – even to climb trees! Very active, these strange creatures are constantly defending their territory, feeding or courting. They live in burrows made by the males who also look after the many hundreds of eggs that the females lay.

彈塗魚實際上是兩棲魚類，可在水中和水上生活，會利用胸鰭來「行走」、「彈跳」、「跳躍」，甚至爬樹！這種奇特的生物經常活躍地捍衞領土、進食或求偶。雄性會挖掘地洞作居所， 也會照顧雌性產下的數百顆卵。

5. BLACK-FACED SPOONBILL 黑臉琵鷺

A protected species in Hong Kong, spoonbills are large water birds with flattened, spatulate bills that look like a spoon, or a “pi pa” (Chinese musical instrument). Despite its large size, it only weighs about 1kg. These birds use a tactile method of feeding, wading in the water and sweeping their beaks from side-to-side to detect prey. Mai Po Marshes (in the New Territories), hosts a quarter of the world's (dwindling) population of black-faced spoonbill during migration season.

6. EURASIAN OTTER 歐亞水獺

Rare, and mostly nocturnal, Eurasian otters are long, slender creatures well-equipped for their aquatic habitat. Brown above and cream below, they are now very rare in Hong Kong due to habitat destruction, as well as the use of pesticides that pollutes waterways, poisoning their food supply. The most common sign of this otter’s presence is their scat (poo), which they leave on the ground near the water and which, rather surprisingly, smells like jasmine tea! They once occurred throughout the region, however, due to excessive hunting for their fur and as traditional medicine, otter populations have dramatically declined.

稀有而夜行的歐亞水獺十分適應於水中生活，修長的身軀有啡色的背部和奶白色的腹部。由於棲息地被破壞，殺蟲劑污染水源並毒害其食物，牠如今在香港很少見。最常見的出沒痕跡是牠留在水邊附近地面的糞便，令人驚訝的是，糞便聞起來竟像茉莉花茶！水獺曾經在本港多處出現，但由於被過度捕獵作皮草和傳統醫藥， 數量正急劇減少。

7. THE COMMON KINGFISHER 普通翠鳥

Most often seen using a branch or a post on which to perch whilst they fish, or as a flash of iridescent blue as they fly past close to water sources, these stunning little birds have blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. They feed mainly on fish, caught by diving, and have special visual adaptations to enable them to see prey underwater.

8. FIDDLER CRAB 招潮蟹

Characterised by very unequal claw sizes, fiddler crabs can be found in mangroves and sheltered bays or estuaries, feeding and digging burrows in the inshore muddy or sandy areas. In males, the large claw (which can weigh up to half the body mass), is used mainly in a waving display during combat with other males, and the smaller claw is used for feeding. You may notice small sandy balls around their burrows; these crabs are detritus feeders and have advanced mouth pieces which sort through the sand and eject any inedible matter in the form of a pellet.

招潮蟹的名字源自牠覓食時的外貌好像在拉小提琴。牠的特徵是一大一小的螯，雄蟹的大螯可佔體重的一半，主要在與其他雄蟹交戰時揮動，小螯則用來進食。在牠的洞穴周圍或會發現小沙球，因這種蟹是食碎屑動物，有精密的口部去濾食沙粒， 把不可食用的物質排出成顆粒狀。

1. CHINESE GECKO 中國壁虎

Geckos are a very common sight in Hong Kong, and a welcome one in the home since they eat mosquitos!  Small lizards, with a soft-skinned body, a large flattened head and big eyes, they have no eyelids and their eyes are covered by a transparent membrane

which they lick to clean. Their amazing climbing ability, even on glass or upside down, is due to tiny specialised hairs on their feet! They can drop their tails to avoid predation, and then grow it back again!

2. HOUSE MOUSE 小家鼠

Although a wild animal, the house mouse has benefited significantly from associating with human habitation to the point that truly wild populations are significantly less common than the semi-tame populations near human activity that are often seen in our urban areas. Highly adaptable animals, house mice are able to inhabit diverse areas ranging from sandy dunes to apartment buildings.

3. EURASIAN TREE SPARROW 樹麻雀

In Europe, these sparrows are shy, rural creatures, and rarely nest near people or in urban areas. They are so well adapted in Hong Kong that a 2017 study by HKBWS shows that they are now far more likely to build their untidy little nests in air vents, pipes and walls than in trees!

4. AMERICAN COCKROACH 美洲家蠊

Fascinating insects, and very hard to kill, the American cockroach nymphs are capable of limb regeneration! Omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, it is recorded that they eat materials such as cheese, beer, leather, starch in book bindings, glue, hair, flakes of dried skin, dead animals and plant materials to name a few! 

5. YELLOW-CRESTED COCKATOO 小葵花鳳頭鸚鵡

 A lovely white bird with a retractile yellow crest, the individuals in Hong Kong are an introduced population, developed from released caged birds many generations ago. In their natural habitat in Timor, they are at risk of extinction. Noisy groups can often be seen flying around Mid Levels and Pokfulam, particularly in the mornings and early evenings, where they have adapted well to urban environments and formed healthy-sized populations.

6. WILD BOAR 野豬

Increasingly common in urban settings, the wild boar uses its long, rubbery snout for digging underground roots and bulbs, often tearing up large areas of forest (or golf courses!). An omnivore, they more or less eat everything, which is why they are particularly happy to rummage through our unattended garbage. Wild boars are normally nocturnal, sleeping 12 hours a day hidden in nests made of leaves. As property development continues to encroach onto Hong Kong’s green belt areas, more wild animals will be displaced and some, like these pigs, will adapt well to living in the urban landscape.

野豬在市區環境中越來越普遍，牠用長而有彈性的吻部來挖掘地下的根莖和鱗莖，經常翻開大片森林而未有停止！牠是雜食性動物，幾乎所有東西都吃，所以特別喜歡翻找垃圾。由雌豬及其幼豬組成的豬群會一起生活，這些夜行動物每天可在樹葉製成的巢穴中睡上12小時。隨着香港的城巿發展逐漸侵佔綠化帶，野生動物持續流離失所，然而部份動物如野豬卻十分適應市區的生活。

7. RED-BASED JEZEBEL 報喜斑粉蝶

A very striking butterfly, often appearing in great numbers at the beginning/end of the year. Distinctive and conspicuous, its wings are black, white, yellow and red. You may find its funky looking caterpillar feeding on Sweet Viburnum.

8. CRESTED MYNA 八哥

A group of mynas is collectively known as a "local" or a "statutory". A type of starling, hence its other common name of Chinese Starling, these birds scour the grass for insects, especially grasshoppers. These garrulous birds have wonderful, gregarious personalities and are much loved for their inimitable mimicry of human sounds. Sadly, they are often kept as pets as they are easy to tame.