The Water Buffaloes of Hong Kong: A Legacy at Risk of Vanishing

The first water buffaloes were brought into Hong Kong in the early 19th century when rice paddies were more commonplace than skyscrapers. The buffaloes were used by farmers to plough their fields and to produce milk for the dairy industry. Since water buffaloes are excellently adapted to survive in wetland environments, they thrived in the rice paddies until Hong Kong’s farming industry began dying out in the mid-late 1900s.

As urbanization spread and the population of the city ballooned, Hong Kong’s agricultural industry scaled back in favor of glass and concrete. By the 1970s, Hong Kong’s rice paddy fields had all but vanished, relocated to Mainland China where space was far more abundant.

As farmers abandoned their fields, they often also abandoned their water buffaloes. Today's water buffaloes in Hong Kong are direct descendants of this stock.

Hong Kong's water buffaloes are Asian Water Buffaloes, also known as Domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). While out hiking or exploring, here are some key ways you can tell them apart from wild cattle, which are also common along many Hong Kong hiking trails and village areas:

Physical Characteristics

Asian Water Buffaloes are typically much larger than wild cattle. They also have a stockier build with shorter legs. It is the largest member of the Bovini tribe, which includes yak, African buffalo, various species of wild cattle, and others.

• Shoulder height: 47.2"-52.4" (120-133 cm)
• Body length: 80"-91" (203-232 cm)
• Standing height: 48.4"-55.5" (123-141 cm)
• Body width: 22.4"-27.6" (57-70 cm)
• Robust heads with strong ears
• Ears reach out from eyes and point down to neck
• Color: Ashy grey to dark black coats. Water buffaloes generally have sparser coats than wild cattle.
• Wide-splayed hooves prevent them from sinking too deeply in mud, enabling movement in wetlands and swamps

Horns

One of the easiest ways to tell water buffaloes and wild cattle apart is by their horns. Asian Water Buffaloes have distinct horns that curve backward in a semicircle - almost like a crescent moon.

• Horn length: 60"-78" (152.4-198.1 cm)
• The largest recorded horns for an Asian Water Buffalo is just under 2 metres (6.6 feet)

Weight

Asian Water Buffaloes are often referred to as the "living tractors of the East" due to their large size and propensity to wallow and shovel mud and dirt on themselves. Typical weights can be found below.

• Males: 1985-2645 lb (900-1200 kg)
• Females: 1320-1765 lb (600-800 kg)

Behavior

• Wild water buffaloes live in herds typically of 10 to 20 individuals led by a dominant matriarch
• Without human intervention, cattle are naturally herd animals. Wild cattle can accumulate into large herds, with some sizes that can go into the hundreds. However, typical herds number around 20 individuals. Usually, these herds consist of females and their young, although in some cattle species there are bachelor males among them.

Environment

Water buffaloes require environments with adequate water and mud for wallowing and coating themselves to protect against the heat and from insects. Wild cattle usually prefer pastures and grasslands. Water buffaloes can be found in:

• Tropical and subtropical forests
• Wet grasslands
• Riverine forests
• Marshes
• Swamps

Lifespan

Water buffaloes and cows are quite hardy creatures and can live for a long time.

• Water buffaloes can live for up 20-25 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity
• Cattle live for a similar length of time at 20-30 years naturally

Female Friendship Groups

Female water buffaloes form strong friendships by looking for other female water buffaloes with similar personality traits, according to a study done by City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK).

*Do not approach water buffaloes in the wild. Admire them from a distance.

Hong Kong's water buffaloes can mainly be found in the following locations:

1. Shap Long Village
2. Pui O beach
3. Mui Wo (though sightings are rare)
4. Mai Po Wetlands

Local residents in Pui O and Shap Long Village (both on Lantau Island) have been used to the presence of water buffaloes for decades. Indeed, the water buffaloes provide a valuable service to this region of Lantau, which is dominated by wetlands. The buffaloes help to maintain the wetlands by grazing and digging wallows.

There is also a small population of water buffalo in the Mai Po wetlands, introduced by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to help manage the ecosystem there.

According to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), there are 180 water buffaloes in Hong Kong as of 2022.

However, locals who know the buffaloes more intimately like Jean Leung Siu-wah, who is known in south Lantau as the "buffalo whisperer", claims that the number is closer to 100 individuals. Jean is quite famous in the area for taking care of the buffaloes personally, even going as far as helping them when they are sick or injured.

Of special note to Jean is Ngau Ngau, a male water buffalo who used to raid her garden in Shap Long Village. After finding him with a broken leg, Leung took on the task of healing him, ensuring his survival. Though he did recover, he was left with a shortened hind leg.

Water buffaloes are often referred to as "engineers of the marshlands". Here's why:

• Vegetation Control: Water buffaloes graze on dominant vegetation like reeds, preventing these plants from overgrowing and killing off other valuable wetland foliage. This grazing helps to create a mosaic of diverse habitats. They also keep back the growth of bushes and woody plants, maintaining healthy, open wetland environments.
• Trampling and Habitat Creation: The trampling of vegetation by water buffaloes creates submerged tracks and channels. These tracks can be used by fish, and can also provide foraging areas for birds. Their movement through mud can also enlarge wetlands by connecting separate pools of water, which creates passages for various fish species.
• Wallowing: Water buffaloes love to wallow, which is essential for regulating their body temperature, especially in warmer months. Their wallowing enlarges muddy pools and areas, which creates additional habitats for other species.
• Cost-Effective Management: Using water buffaloes for grazing is a cost-effective and clean way to maintain Hong Kong's valuable ecosystems compared to disruptive mechanized methods.
• Symbiotic Relationship with Cattle Egrets: Hong Kong's rare cattle egrets rely on water buffaloes to wallow and uncover insects who would otherwise be buried in the mud. The egrets can often be seen roosting on the backs of water buffaloes or following them around in an iconic wildlife pairing.

Illegal Construction

In their main habitats of Shap Long Village and Pui O, construction projects (often illegal) have started eroding the natural habitat of the water buffaloes. This land, though protected by government mandate, is targeted by landowners for development since space is always at a premium in Hong Kong, and property is a quick way for people to get rich.

Illegal Waste from Construction

These construction projects also lead to situations where illegal building materials are dumped in the habitat of the water buffaloes.

"Sharp objects such as broken floor tiles have become a hazard for buffaloes, causing deep cuts which can attract fly larvae and lead to infections."

Conflict With Locals

Waste material and a shrinking habitat are forcing the water buffaloes to search for food in residential areas, where barbed wire and building waste can injure them. In addition, movement away from their natural habitat leads Hong Kong's water buffaloes to come into contact with locals, many of whom are wary of these powerful, large bovines. Incidents involving tourists, like one who was injured in 2011, and sometimes locals, like when 3 children were injured by water buffaloes in 2021, have led to rising tensions.

"The angriest residents want the buffalo culled."

As water buffaloes increasingly clash with locals in Lantau, the AFCD has tried several solutions to mitigate conflict - usually with disastrous results.

Botched Solution 1: Capture and Auction Ends in Injuries and Euthanization

Back in 2011, Dr. Howard Wong, principal vet officer for the AFCD, explained that before water buffaloes could be relocated to Mai Po Wetlands, as permitted by the WWF, the primary method of dealing with problem buffaloes was through auction.

However, before an auction could occur, the AFCD had to tranquilize the water buffaloes. This process often did not go well. One attempt at tranquilizing two buffaloes in Mui Wo had the following results, "the tranquilizer darts didn't work. One of two animals darted wandered off into a swamp. The other became dangerously bloated."

Even when buffaloes were able to be sent to auction, there was almost no chance of them finding new homes. According to an article by China Daily, "the AFCD animal control would seize any buffalo or cattle causing a public nuisance (blocking traffic or posing a safety risk). The animal would then go to an animal center, its presence would be advertised for owners to claim, and if no one came to claim the animal, it would go to auction. Wong said lack of adoptions or demand for buffalo meat inevitably resulted in the animals being euthanized."

Botched Solution 2: A Relocation Effort Gone Wrong Leads to 10% of HK's Water Buffaloes Dying

The AFCD have a tremendously poor track record when it comes to relocating "problem" water buffaloes. One relocation attempt on the 22nd September, 2006, saw 18 water buffaloes tranquilized for relocation.

The relocation attempt resulted in the deaths of 17 out of the 18 water buffaloes, which is around 10% of Hong Kong's water buffalo population as stated by the AFCD themselves (at 180 in total). How did the botched relocation kill so many buffaloes? They were severely injured and/or suffocated due to being packed too tightly in the AFCD trucks. The one that survived was able breathe by being at the top of the pile in the truck. Justification for the relocation has never been shared by the AFCD.

Botched Solution 3: Capture-Sterilise-Relocate (CSR) Programme Has No Clear Oversight Or Transparency

The actual procedure for this programme is carried out by the Animal Welfare (Operations) Division (AWOD) on behalf of the AFCD. Dr. Chan Chi Ching (Jason), who oversees the teams responsible for capturing and relocating the buffalo, as well as for sterilizing both the bulls and cows.

In 2024, it was discovered that "Dr Jason Chan and his team castrated one of the last two remaining intact males from the Chi Ma Wan herd." They also returned later to castrate the final remaining male, but failed to do so.

Given that the goal stated by the AFCD for its CSR Programme was to "strik[e] a balance between minimising the nuisance to the daily lives of residents and protecting the welfare of the cattle," it would appear that they are not holding true to this goal. Neutering the last remaining males in the Chi Ma Wan water buffalo herd would prevent any further reproduction, causing an eventual die-off of the water buffaloes in that area.

It has also been claimed that "Through un-managed sterilization, the Mui Wo herd no longer has any breeding pairs."

According to activist groups like Save Our Buffs, Dr. Chan has admitted "that there was no overall monitoring of the percentage of the herd that had been sterilized, nor was there a specific target his team was working towards."

In 2024 audio recordings with the South Lantau Buffalo Society, Dr. Chan has suggested that he's working on a personal, secret backup plan to breed buffaloes outside of Lantau. He suggests that the buffaloes should ideally be "fenced up" in "a farm." He also indicated that his boss at the AFCD didn't know about this plan.

You can find audio clips of this below.

24.11.12 - AFCD - Interview with Dr Jason Chan 001

24.11.12 - AFCD - Interview with Dr Jason Chan 002

The attitude towards water buffaloes by locals from Lantau Island are typically positive. A survey titled “Public attitudes and values regarding a semi-urban feral megaherbivore”, was conducted by a joint team from Hong Kong University and City University in August of 2024.

The survey sampled 177 residents living in areas where water buffaloes were present and also sampled a further 726 responses via online survey. The survey was designed to "investigate people’s perceptions of feral buffaloes."

Results of the survey indicated that "most individuals have a neutral to highly positive attitude (77%-84%) toward buffaloes."

Given the overwhelmingly positive attitude towards Hong Kong's wild buffaloes, their cultural significance, and their ecological benefit, it's imperative that these wonderful creatures are protected far better than they have been currently.

If you're concerned about Hong Kong's water buffaloes and how their population is being managed, you can:

1. Launch a complaint to the ombudsman: [email protected]
2. Launch a complaint to the AFCD: [email protected]
3. Use a generated email to launch a complaint to the relevant parties created by Saveourbuffs or South Lantau Life
4. Share this article to raise awareness