在高樓林立的香港 給野牛一片自由徜徉的天地

A water buffalo grazes in a lush open field, an egret standing sentinel on its back. A herd of wild cattle bathes in the sunshine along the side of a winding road.

一頭水牛在葱翠的曠野上吃草，一隻白鷺靜靜地立在它的背上。在一條蜿蜒曲折的路旁，一羣野牛在曬着太陽。

Two idyllic rural scenes, seen nearly every day.

這兩幅閒適恬靜的郊野景緻，幾乎每天都可以看到。

In Hong Kong.

這是在香港。

This is a place known for its urban superlatives. There are more skyscrapers here than anywhere on the planet. Most residents live in tiny apartments, many stacked atop sprawling shopping malls, which in turn are piled on top of subway stations. With an area about the size of Luxembourg, Hong Kong is continuously reclaiming land from the sea, making more space for its 7.2 million people.

這個地方以美妙的城市景觀著稱，摩天大樓比地球上任何地方都多。大多數居民住在十分狹小的公寓內，而這些公寓有很多建在成片的購物中心之上，購物中心又往往建在地鐵站之上。因為面積大概只有盧森堡那麼大，香港在持續填海造地，好為720萬人口創造更多空間。

But there is another side to this former British colony. A wild side. Most of Hong Kong is not an urban jungle, but rather a real one, teeming with monkeys, Burmese pythons, barking deer, wild boars and 14 types of venomous snakes (eight of which, including the king cobra, are lethal to humans). About three-quarters of the land here is countryside, mostly mountainous terrain and much of it protected as parkland.

不過，這片英國的前殖民地還有另一面——野性的一面。香港大多數地方並不是都市森林，而是覆蓋着真正的森林，裏面棲居着很多野生動物，包括猴子、緬甸蟒蛇、麂、野豬和14種毒蛇（包括眼鏡王蛇在內的八種可以致人死亡）。香港有四分之三的地方是郊野，大多是丘陵，而且有很多作為公共綠地保護了起來。

Rice paddies once dotted the lowland areas, where for generations cattle and water buffalo plowed the swampy land. By the 1970s, when Hong Kong’s economic boom and soaring land prices made farming less attractive and uneconomical, most of the work Animals were abandoned.

那些低窪區域也曾點綴着片片稻田，人們用黃牛和水牛世代耕種着鬆軟的濕地。至上世紀70年代，香港經濟開始繁榮，土地價格飆升，務農變得越來越沒有吸引力，又缺乏經濟價值，大多數農畜遭到遺棄。

They seem to have done just fine.

不過，它們似乎過得也不錯。

As many as 1,000-odd feral bovines — mostly cattle but also water buffaloes — remain. While many make their homes deep inside the country parks, others live near people, grazing at bus stops, occasionally raiding gardens and blocking traffic.

目前香港有1000多頭野牛——大多數是黃牛，也有水牛。儘管它們當中很多在郊野公園深處找到了自己的家，但也有一些聚居在靠近人類的地方。它們會在出租車站附近吃草，偶爾還會突襲花園或造成交通堵塞。

This month, an immense, horned water buffalo surprised students by running alongside them in a cross-country race. For many residents venturing outside the city’s urban core, cattle are the first wild animals they encounter.

本月，正進行越野賽跑的學生，就意外地碰上一大羣長角的水牛跟着他們一起跑。對於很多到城市核心區域之外的地方遊玩的居民來説，牛往往是他們首先看到的野生動物。

Animal-rights advocates say the cattle have helped bring a sea change in attitudes toward wildlife in recent years, both among the populace and the government. A decade ago, the animals’ future looked uncertain as developers, especially on Lantau Island, home to the city’s airport and Disneyland, pushed the government to remove them to clear land for new houses.

動物權益倡導人士表示，最近幾年，因為牛的存在，不管是民眾還是政府，對野生動物的態度都大為改觀。10年前，動物們的未來顯得並不確定，因為開發商，尤其是香港機場和迪士尼樂園所在的大嶼山島上的開發商，竭力促使政府除掉野生動物，騰出地方建造新項目。

Many cattle, which are not a protected species, were slaughtered, and the herds on the island were on the verge of being eliminated, said Ho Loy, who leads the Lantau Buffalo Association.

大嶼山愛護水牛協會負責人何來(Ho Loy)表示，由於牛不是保護物種，當時有許多被屠宰，島上的牛羣瀕臨滅絕。

“It was just like a war,” said Ms. Ho, whose group seeks to preserve the island’s cattle and buffalo.

“就像一場戰爭，”何來説。她領導的團體致力於保護大嶼山的黃牛和水牛。

Now, the Hong Kong government agency in charge of managing wildlife is working to preserve the cattle, monitoring their health, tagging them, tracking some with GPS collars, and performing selective sterilizations to keep their numbers in check. Since the agency, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, set up its cattle management team in 2011, more than 300 animals have been sterilized, it said in an emailed response to questions.

現在，負責管理野生動物的香港政府機構正努力保護牛羣，檢測它們的健康狀況，給它們做標記，帶上有GPS定位功能的項圈以追蹤其活動。他們還會有選擇地給牛做絕育，以控制種羣規模。這一部門名為香港漁農自然護理署。通過郵件回答採訪問題時，護理署表示，自2011年成立牛隻管理隊以來，他們已經給超過300頭牛做了絕育。

Volunteer groups like Ms. Ho’s, as well as similar organizations in other parts of Hong Kong, work closely with the government and the public to protect the animals and handle complaints.

諸如大嶼山愛護水牛協會這樣的志願團體，以及香港其他地區的類似機構，還和政府、公眾緊密合作，保護動物，處理投訴問題。

The beasts’ higher profile has given rise to a new breed of residents: urban cowgirls.

野牛受關注程度的提高還催生了一種新的居民類型：都市女牛仔。

Karina O’Carroll, 32, is one of them. As a founder of Sai Kung Buffalo Watch, she takes calls from the public at all hours, responding to reports of cattle blocking roads, and protests from people annoyed by piles of steaming cow patties. All in an effort to maintain bovine-human harmony.

32歲的拉琳娜·歐卡羅爾(Karina O’Carroll)就是其中一員。作為西貢野牛觀察(Sai Kung Buffalo Watch)機構的一名創始人，她會接聽公眾的來電，在接到有關野牛堵塞交通的報告，或被一堆堆熱氣騰騰的牛糞惹惱的人們的抱怨時，加以解決。這些都是為了實現人畜和諧共處。

“We have gone to pick up poo to appease people,” she said, explaining to them that “it’s the best thing for your gardens and your plants.”

“為了安撫人們的情緒，我們有去撿牛糞，”她説，還會向他們解釋，“對你家的花園和植物來説，牛糞是最好的東西。”

Ms. O’Carroll does not have a lasso. She has found that the best way to shoo cattle off the road is to jingle some car keys — they will move away from the sound. Failing that, splash them with water. And though she does not carry a six-shooter, she does on occasion fire antimaggot medication at their hindquarters.

歐卡羅爾不用套索。她發現把牛從道路上趕走的最好的辦法，是用車鑰匙發出叮噹的響聲。它們聽到那種聲音就會離開。如果這個辦法行不通，可以向它們撒一些水。儘管不曾用左輪手槍對付過這些動物，但她偶爾會向它們的臀部及後腿上噴防蛆劑。

“They don’t like the sound of sprays,” she says. “You’ve got one shot, and then they’re gone.”

“他們不喜歡噴霧器的聲音，”她説。“你只要噴一下，它們就走了。”

Ms. Ho is more of a cow whisperer, talking to the animals in a soothing voice to make them move off the roadway, out of harm’s way.

何來則更像是一個牛語者，會以柔和的聲音和動物們説話，讓它們離開道路，免受傷害。

Both women are helped by scores of volunteers, as interest in the cattle grows. The government now sees the animals as less of a nuisance and more of a tourist attraction.

隨着人們對牛羣的興趣增大，不少志願者前來幫助二人做這些工作。政府現在更多地把這些動物看做吸引旅遊的元素，而不是把它們當作麻煩。

“The department recognizes that the cattle and buffalo are part of the heritage of rural Hong Kong and that it brings pleasure to visitors and locals alike to see these animals in a natural environment,” the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department says on its website.

“本署認同黃牛及水牛是本港農村生活歷史遺產的其中一部分，本地和外地遊客亦樂於見到它們在自然環境中活動，”漁農自然護理署在其網站上表示。

Cows are far and away the most common wild animal seen in Hong Kong, but encounters with other creatures also take place as the city expands and people venture into the wilderness.

牛無疑是香港最常見的野生動物，遠遠超出其他物種。但隨着城市擴大，以及人類的活動範圍深入郊野，和其他動物相遇的情況也時有發生。

In May, a wild boar entered a shopping mall on Hong Kong Island, rampaging through a children’s store before being tranquilized and returned to the wild. The next month, a 12-foot python had to be removed from a village grave site where it had taken residence. Families hiking in the wilderness have been known to lose a family dog to a python’s stranglehold.

今年5月，一頭野豬闖進港島一家商場，在一間兒童商店裏橫衝直闖，之後被麻醉並送回野外。6月，一座村子不得不從墓地移走了一條盤踞在那裏的12英尺長巨蟒。有一家人在曠野徒步時，一隻寵物狗被巨蟒纏繞勒死。

Last month, more than a dozen macaque monkeys took over a school playground, forcing students to move inside while animal control officials tried to remove the primates. Eventually one, lured by a banana, was caught in a cage, prompting the others to retreat, local news media reported.

上個月，十幾只獼猴佔領了一所學校的運動場，學生們不得不回到室內，等待管控動物的官員驅散這羣靈長目生物。據當地新聞媒體報道，最終一隻猴子受不了香蕉引誘，被關進了籠子，其他猴子才撤離了運動場。

Hong Kong’s thriving wild fauna stands in sharp contrast to the rest of China. From 1970 to 2010, the population of reptiles and amphibians fell 97 percent in China, while the mammal populations — humans excepted — fell 50 percent during the same period, according to a study released this month by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

野生動物在香港的生機勃勃，與中國其他地區形成了鮮明的對比。世界自然基金會(WWF)本月公佈的一項研究顯示，從1970年到2010年，中國爬行動物和兩棲動物的總量下降了97%，而哺乳動物數量——人類除外——在同一時期下降了50%。

Cattle here are bucking that trend. Their numbers on Lantau Island have more than tripled in recent years, Ms. Ho estimates.

香港的牛羣則逆勢增長。據何來估計，近年來大嶼山的牛隻數量增加了兩倍多。

Feral cattle, which do not meet the government’s definition of wild animals, do not enjoy government protection. In Hong Kong, killing or possessing a wild Burmese python, fox, squirrel, monkey or any bird subjects violators to a fine of as much as $12,900 and up to a year in prison.

野牛不符合政府對野生動物的定義，並未受到政府保護。在香港，獵殺或擁有野生緬甸蟒蛇、狐狸、松鼠、猴子或任何鳥類會被處以至多10萬港元（約合人民幣8萬元）的罰款、最高一年的監禁。

But these days, few people set out to harm the animals, and though Ms. O’Carroll and her colleagues fear that cattle rustlers from mainland China could spirit whole herds away on boats in the dead of night, so far that does not appear to have happened.

但現如今，幾乎沒有人會做出傷害動物的行為，不過歐卡羅爾和同事們擔心，來自中國大陸的偷牛賊可能會在夜深人靜的時候把整羣牛帶上船運走。但這樣的事情至今並沒有出現過。

Instead, more people seem to enjoy just having them around as a living reminder of Hong Kong’s bucolic past.

更多的人似乎喜歡野牛在周圍流連，因為這是一個生動的提醒，令人想起香港昔日的田園風情。

“They’re part of our community,” Ms. O’Carroll said. “They have to stay. They were here before a lot of us.”

“它們是我們社羣的一部分，必須留下來。它們比我們很多人來這裏的時間都早，”歐卡羅爾説。