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About Monkeys
Origin of the Kowloon Hills monkeys
The macaques in Hong Kong have a very long history. It was recorded in
the 1819 edition of 'The Gazetteer of the Xin'an County' that monkeys
were indigenous in Xin'an County (at that time, the Hong Kong Territory
is part of the Xin'an County) and were commonly found in the woodlands.
Robert Swinhoe (1870) reported the presence of monkeys in most small islands
in the Bay of Hong Kong. Later Dr. Glover M. Allen classified these macaques
as Macaca mulatta, the rhesus macaque. In 1947, Professor G. A.
C. Herklots of The University of Hong Kong reported that he saw rhesus
macaques near Tai Tam Reservoir, on the Victoria Peak and in the Deep
Water Bay valley. He suggested that these macaques were descendents of
the original wild stock. At present, it is generally believed that these
indigenous wild stocks were all extirpated due to urbanization.
Rhesus macaques in the Kowloon Hills area were believed not the descendents
of the original wild stock but released during the First World War time
(1910's). The release was related to the construction work of the Kowloon
Reservoir, which was completed in 1913. This was the first reservoir in
the New Territories and before it was put to use, people discovered some
Strychnos plants around the reservoir. These plants contain poisonous
alkaloids that are dangerous to livestock and humans, if ingested; but
are favorite natural food for macaques. Because of worrying about the
strychnos plants might poison the reservoir, people released a few rhesus
macaques there with the idea that the monkeys would eat the plants before
they dropped into the reservoir. Afterwards, monkeys started breeding
and finally a stable population was attained.
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