(CN) Dog packs in Hong Kong threat to deer species

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

http://hongkong.scmp.com/

Saturday, August 11, 2001

by CHEUNG CHI-FAI

 

The growing population of stray dogs hunting in packs in country parks

should be controlled in case they are destroying a species of deer,

conservationists warned yesterday.

 

The dogs, found in 18 of the territory's 22 country parks, are

believed to be predatory to the Indian muntjac, a southern China deer

species.

 

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Foundation have spent a

year recording wildlife in the parks and discovered an unusual imbalance in

the ratio of male to female deer.

 

Jai Chiyi-pei, a wildlife conservation professor at the National

Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, said the male to

female ratio was normally one to three but it was the reverse in the SAR.

 

" This is the first time we have discovered this unusual phenomenon

which we believe might be attributed to the attack by the stray dogs, "

Professor Jai said.

 

The assumption was supported by the fact that more female muntjac were

spotted in places without stray dogs.

 

Professor Jai said male muntjac had horns to ward off predators, while

females were more vulnerable.

 

As well as the gender imbalance, researchers found the muntjac were

occasionally hunting at night, which was unusual. They may be doing this to

avoid the stray dogs, which hunted by day.

 

Professor Jai said it was too early to say if stray dogs threatened

the survival of the muntjac and more research was needed.

 

" The phenomenon might have existed for a long time and may represent a

natural balance, " he said.

 

William Suen Kai-yuen, director of the Wildlife Conservation

Foundation, called on the Government to control the dogs if wildlife was

being attacked.

 

" The dogs usually attack in groups of three to 10. We estimate there

are at least 1,000 stray dogs in the country parks, " he said.

 

Over the past year about 115 stray dogs were photographed by 100

infra-red activated cameras in the country parks. The cameras also recorded

25 mammal species, six of them rare animals such as Chinese pangolin and

Chinese otters.

 

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it had

installed a new type of dog trap in country parks since late last year.

 

" The trapping exercise is part of our daily routine and has nothing to

do with wildlife attacks, " a spokeswoman said.