Saturday, January 22, 2011

Hands (This week's Photo Hunt theme)



You've got to hand it to the Hong Kong authorities (yes, pun very much intended!): in that they do seem to try to go beyond most other territories' authorities in terms of trying to make sure that those living within their borders do the right thing!

Seeing the above pictured signs (that have images of human hands prominently featured on them): many an individual might get to thinking firstly, what are the chances of encountering cows in Hong Kong and secondly, who would go and blithely attempt to cattle they find wandering about the place. My answer to that first query is that they are higher than many a visitor to the Big Lychee might think -- especially in Sai Kung and on Lantau. And re the second: well... how about the all too many folks who seem to delight in disregarding the law to happily feed -- and thereby play a big part in creating the nuisance that are -- the many and often scarily large groups of wild monkeys in Hong Kong!

My own personal take on these two groups of creatures is that spotting the occasional cow wandering freely on country park and other public space is one of those things that keeps Hong Kong interesting (with the possible action of on Tap Mun, an island with a whole lot of feral cows and their mess!) but that the monkey population has grown too big and bold to the extent that they have become a sometimes pretty scary menace.

And although a story I heard about a monkey jumping onto a hiker's back, unzipping his backpack and making away with some of his food located that particularly bold monkey on mainland China, I can see a day in the near future when something similar takes place in the Hong Kong monkey land centered at Kam Shan (translated from Cantonese as Gold Hill/Mountain but now often frequently referred to as Ma Lau Shan (i.e., Monkey Hill/Mountain) but also taking in parts of Shing Mun and Lion Rock country parks.

So while I did appear to start off this Photo Hunt entry in a light-hearted fashion, I actually do agree with the Country Parks authorities in their bid to curb unwitting urbanites from unbalancing the ecological system by doing such as encouraging feral animals to approach -- rather than steer clear -- of humans and expect to be fed. Put another way: people should keep their hands away from stray and feral animals... unless they want the hands that feed to be bitten -- if not literally, then metaphorically -- somewhere along the line!

26 comments:

jmb said...

I agree with you heartily and people are doing the wild animals no favour in teaching them to depend on others for food. Well I guess cows aren't wild animals exactly, she says laughingly. But those monkeys. LOL.

Happy weekend to you YTSL.

Carver said...

You are so right. Great post and an original take on the theme. Something that gets on my nerves where I live is in the summer people feed the ducks and geese at the lake near my house, but are rarely there doing it in the winter when they need more help. I feel like if they are going to encourage them to stick around by feeding them through Autumn, it is dumb to stop in the winter. I don't feed the wild ducks and geese at the lake but sometimes I'm tempted to in the winter when few people are there. The problem though is unless it's regular, feeding them does more harm than good.

Gengen said...

Nice choice for the theme great post. Happy hunting.

Randi said...

Wow...I didn´t know you have wild monkeys. I love your take on this theme and I agree with you.
Happy weekend.

LifeRamblings said...

I am not fond of monkeys. Find them scary and can be aggressive too.

Unknown said...

i experienced monkeys stealing our lunch, mainly fruits, during a picnic near the underground river. humans have invaded their place, and the visitors thought they were being kind to the monkeys by giving them food. i dread the day that monkeys would refuse a banana and grab a bag of potato chips!

YTSL said...

Hi jmb --

Heheh re cows not being wild animals in your eyes and yet... ;b

Hi Carver --

Thanks for sharing your story about the ducks and geese -- and yes, they fit the point I was trying to make very well. "Feeding them does more harm than good" -- exactly!

Hi Gengen --

Thanks and happy Photo Hunting to you too.

Hi Randi --

Alas, we do... and they can be rather scary in that some of them are quite large and/or aggressive. One hike I was on, I think I saw at least 100 of them. Part of me wanting to take photos but another part just wanted to get away from where they were as quickly as I could!

Hi Life Ramblings --

You're Penang-based as I recall. If so, gather that you've encountered the monkeys at the Botanical Gardens. Again, the problem is some people go and feed them -- and now those monkeys expect any human they see to do the same!

Hi Luna Miranda --

I've seen people here in Hong Kong offering monkeys barbecued chicken wings and drumsticks!!! So yeah, these have gone way beyond bananas and other fruit in terms of their diet!!! :(

Eden said...

Really, monkeys in HongKong? I missed that when I visited a couple of years ago.

Although I spotted what looked like a "water buffalo" or perhaps that was a cow when I visited Lantau.

Great post!

Thanks for visiting mine and leaving a comment too. :)

ipanema said...

great post. so true with the 2nd one. and i would love to find a stray cow in HK one day. :)

happy weekend! :)

Anonymous said...

Lots ofimportant warnings there! Great shots and interesting reading your post as always.

healingmagichands said...

that sign is wonderful! And what a grand take on the theme, too.

Trekcapri said...

Hi YTSL, I didn't realize that there was a big monkey population and that they are pretty bold and aggressive. I think I would be afraid of them. I don't think I would mind seeing the cows though. I find them gentle and I can outrun them.

Two very important photos and great choices for this week's theme. Have a wonderful weekend.

Annie said...

Very interesting...a couple of animals that I never would expect to encounter in Hong Kong, of all places! Happy weekend to you.

YTSL said...

Hi Eden --

Yes, really, re monkeys in Hong Kong. Actually, if you search on this blog, you'll come across a few photos of Hong Kong monkeys... ;b

Hi ipanema --

Venture into Sai Kung country parks and/or southern Lantau and I'll wager that you'll find a cow or more! :D

Hi JdQ --

Thanks for reading as well as looking and visiting once again. :)

Hi healingmagichands --

Thanks for your kind words. BTW, did you put up a "hands" Photo Hunt entry of your own? If so, sorry, but I couldn't find it -- at least on my most recent visit to your blog. Maybe I should try again tomorrow?

Hi Trekcapri --

Sounds like we have similar feelings about encountering monkeys and cows in the wild!

Hi Annie --

Cows and monkeys are nothing. Get a load of these wild creatures found in Hong Kong!

http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-hong-kong-wildlife.html

:b

Marta said...

Great idea for this week's theme. I definitely agree with the warnings especially for monkeys. They are scary.

Rach said...

I never knew the monkeys were such a problem!

YTSL said...

Hi Marta --

Thanks and being a fellow hiker, I figure you'd agree with my point of view re wild/stray animals! :)

Hi Rach --

Alas, yes, they are... :S

eastcoastlife said...

I experience first-hand how wild monkeys attack visitors for food in an attraction in Bali. They are used to being fed all sorts of food that if they are not given any, they turned on the visitors. I fled on seeing the scary scene. :P

Gattina said...

Very original way to present the theme !

Susan Demeter said...

I did not know that monkeys were a problem in Hong Kong, or that you might bump into a cow on occasion! Always learn new things on my visits here, and two great examples for the theme :)

YTSL said...

Hi EastCoastLife --

Yikes, that sounds pretty scary indeed. Like you, I would have fled the scene ASAP!

Hi Gattina --

Thanks! :)

Hi Sue --

Yes, indeedy, re the monkeys and cows -- and there are snakes (which I also have encountered) and porcupines and wild boars (which I personally have yet to see though) in Hong Kong too! :D

jams o donnell said...

The signs are sensible but I never thought there would be feral cows in HK! Sorry for the late visit

YTSL said...

Hi Jams --

Thanks for visiting. Better late than never! :)

Hi Julie --

Ta! ;b

magiceye said...

wonderful takes on the theme!

in reply to your query on my post - iphones are the rage here too but nokia has the market share in regular phones and trying hard to establish as a smart phone too with HTC and Samsung and of course iphone!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post. I'd never think of trying to feed a cow - they're constantly eating.

YTSL said...

Hi magiceye --

Glad you like my entry -- and thanks for replying to my query that I left on the comments thread of your own Photo Hunt entry! :)

Hi azahar --

Hahahaha at your comment. It's true that cows do seem to spend a lot of time chewing the cud but I actually have seen cows that don't seem to have anything in their mouths! :D